Anyone Have and A9 yet?

[CountryDevil]

Just curious if anyone actually has an A9 yet? If so, I have the following questions:

1) Battery Life - This is subjective due to use. But I would like to hear some real world usage reports and your usage style.
2) Camera - The good, The bad, The Ugly.
3) Performance - The good, The bad, The Ugly

I am asking this because I am about to kick Sprint to the curb and switch my family to AT&T and we will all need to need new phones and considering this one for my wife. She is the typical text/IM and Facebook user, plays a few games like Candy Crush etc and take some pics here and there. So I think this phone might just be the ticket for her. i am just concerned about the battery life the most as she is not one that remember to charge it when she should.

So if anyone can help with this, I would appreciate it.

 

[CountryDevil]

Just read the "Pre-order" thread and see that it has not shipped yet. Missed this somehow. Sorry folks. But would still be interested in the answers to my questions when anyone get theirs.

Thanks.

 

[phelme]

some countries in Europe already have them available, so scout around for user feedback.

the battery time from all the reviews I've read is all over the map, from way too short to more than enough for the day. I think it's going to come down to individual use, app selection and how well Doze behaves. I'm guessing HTC put a lot of faith in the latter, which may have driven their battery choice.

i'm just hoping it lasts a bit longer than my Nexus 5 does and I'll be happy.

 

[Ara Wagoner]

I've got the A9. Battery life is a little better than the S6 edge, meaning I can get through light to medium days, but not heavy days. If I can just put the phone down and let it Doze, I can get by. It charges quickly, which helps, I guess. I'm the kind of person to usually charge my phone up either during dinner or before bed so I don't have to charge overnight. I'm heavy on Bluetooth and music.

Camera's okay. Not the best in the world, but it more than gets by for me. Beats my 2014 Moto X easy. I wrote the HyperLapse article and I liked it, but that is a bit gimmicky.

So long as you buy a case, the phone is fine. It's been fast, I love adoptable storage, and Marshmallow still has some kinks (the permissions still cause some oddities with some older (and some newer) apps), but I like it. The A9 has worked well for me. Love the fingerprint scanner, which is weird because I hated it on the S6 edge.

 

[bit Jockey]

Hi Ara,

Can you tell me if the HTC themes work with the Google Now Launcher, or will the Google launcher use an internal icon set.

Thanks

 

[Ara Wagoner]

HTC Themes only work with the Sense Home launcher. That said, I'm a Nova Launcher user.

 

[delta7]

can you post pics please?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Ara Wagoner]

Post pics of the Sense Home launcher? Or of Google Now Launcher?

 

[weepatc]

Ara do you use Facebook? I had a helluva time trying to get Facebook Contacts synced with the A9.Had to use an earlier version of FB that synced without a problem then updated when sync was complete. Any tips or tricks for doing this without all the rigmarole

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Edna Alcazar]

What is a A9 phone?

 

[heat_fan1]

Ara do you use Facebook? I had a helluva time trying to get Facebook Contacts synced with the A9.Had to use an earlier version of FB that synced without a problem then updated when sync was complete. Any tips or tricks for doing this without all the rigmarole

Posted via the Android Central App

It's not working for me, either. How did you get an older version of Facebook? My phone came with a "installer" version of FB built-in. I then updated it to a usable version. Also, which version did you downgrade to?

 

[Ara Wagoner]

I do not integrate my Facebook contacts with my phones. In fact the only portion of Facebook I allow on my phones is Messenger, purely for emergency communications.

 

[weepatc]

Downgraded to this older version of facebook:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7hj486n0ISGTzZwTEVKbXp3Wmc/view?usp=docslist_api

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[phelme]

just received mine from a pre-order (U.S., unlocked, carbon grey).

first thing I did was check to see if my grandfathered T-Mobile account works for data. T-Mobile as a rule tends to block the IMEI's of like models of their branded phones on some old plans. Right now, it works fine. And yes, T-Mobile currently doesn't sell this phone. Now you get the idea.

Though I won't feel comfortable that they won't block it for a few days as they do have a relationship with HTC. I have to give it a while in case they end up giving them a range of numbers to add to their brick wall. Google (or LG) did for the Nexus 5x and T-Mobile doesn't carry that either.

Oh and for other T-Mobile users, Wi-Fi calling does work on this phone.

So far I like the A9. Same screen size as my Nexus 5, but lighter and the AMOLED is a nice change. I won't know anything about battery life for a day or two. And I have to look into getting it rooted.

 

[Justin IOnn]

I have the phone already, and I love it.

I'm using the third party app, A Better Camera to take photos and they look great.

Battery life - it's hard to tell. I've had the phone for just over 24 hours, so you can imagine that I've been hammering the battery, setting things up as I want them, and generally tweaking settings.

I bypassed all the HTC Sense homescreens. I immediately installed Microsoft's Arrow launcher.

Feels very fast. Much faster than my HTC One M7.

The solo speaker is a step-down from the M7's stereo monsters... But it's loud enough for me to hear ringtones and notifications. I always use earphones or Bluetooth speakers to play actual music from my phone anyhow - so that's not an issue to me.

It's super thin. I tried to answer a call in a rainstorm earlier... I won't do that again, until I buy a cheap protective case for it. It was as slippy as a bar of soap, when wet.

I have ONE ISSUE with this phone though. It's a small issue, but it's bugging the Hell out of me...

I can't take a screenshot.

The usual physical button combinations don't work.

I thought a long-press on the capacitive Menu button may have done it - it doesnt.

There's no "screenshot" option in the system toggles, swiping down past the notification bar.

There is literally no way to take a screenshot. It's driving me crazy!

Yes, I've tried pressing the physical power and home buttons together. Yes, I've tried pressing the physical volume down rocker and power buttons together.

It's so annoying!!!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[damohallsworth]

You can totally take a screenshot! Hold POWER and VOLUME DOWN at the same time.

Source: the HTC Help app on my A9

 

[weepatc]

I have the phone already, and I love it.

I'm using the third party app, A Better Camera to take photos and they look great.

Battery life - it's hard to tell. I've had the phone for just over 24 hours, so you can imagine that I've been hammering the battery, setting things up as I want them, and generally tweaking settings.

I bypassed all the HTC Sense homescreens. I immediately installed Microsoft's Arrow launcher.

Feels very fast. Much faster than my HTC One M7.

The solo speaker is a step-down from the M7's stereo monsters... But it's loud enough for me to hear ringtones and notifications. I always use earphones or Bluetooth speakers to play actual music from my phone anyhow - so that's not an issue to me.

It's super thin. I tried to answer a call in a rainstorm earlier... I won't do that again, until I buy a cheap protective case for it. It was as slippy as a bar of soap, when wet.

I have ONE ISSUE with this phone though. It's a small issue, but it's bugging the Hell out of me...

I can't take a screenshot.

The usual physical button combinations don't work.

I thought a long-press on the capacitive Menu button may have done it - it doesnt.

There's no "screenshot" option in the system toggles, swiping down past the notification bar.

There is literally no way to take a screenshot. It's driving me crazy!

Yes, I've tried pressing the physical power and home buttons together. Yes, I've tried pressing the physical volume down rocker and power buttons together.

It's so annoying!!!

Posted via the Android Central App

To take a screenshot press the power button & volume down button at the same time..... Happy screenshotting.

I tried posting a screenshot I took of you're post but the app force closes when attempting to add the screenshot. Make sure you use 2 fingers or it won't work. Believe me..... It works this way. Just takes getting used to.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[damohallsworth]

I can't take a screenshot.

You can totally take a screenshot! Hold POWER and VOLUME DOWN at the same time.

Source: the HTC Help app on my A9


View attachment 205732

 

[Justin IOnn]

What is your software version? I'm beginning to think that this needs an update.

If I look at the "About" screen, it's reading:

Android version
6.0

HTC Sense version
7.0_g

Software number
1.10.401.7

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[damohallsworth]

Anyone else finding their A9 hardware buttons are a tad loose and wobbly? My power button in particular feels annoyingly wobbly.

It's weird given the otherwise high build quality. I'm wondering if it needs to go back to the shop.

I haven't had a chance to test the camera or battery life yet. Performance is perfectly adequate on my UK model with 2GB of RAM. I fired up a few 3D games and it handled them with no lag. Back got as warm as you'd expect though. These Snapdragon chips seem to generate a lot of heat.

My software version is the same:

Android version
6.0

HTC Sense version
7.0_g

Software number
1.10.401.7