One M9 owners: What are your HTC One M9 first impressions?

[puch96]

I will have to go to a store and see the phone in person. From all the posts and reviews, the general consensus is that the M9 was an incremental upgrade. And i'm OK with that. HTC attempted to address complaints from previous M phones and they did just that.
Now whether people like the position of the power button, or the slightly modified edge that is supposed to improve grip, it's up to the consumer. No-one will consider a phone to be perfect nor there is such thing as the perfect phone.
Now coming from an M8 HK edition, i currently don't see the need to upgrade to the M9, nor S6 for that matter. I'm happy with my current phone and i will wait and see what is in store for 2016.
As far as the M9 camera is concerned, I truly believe that it has more potential than the M8's ultrapixel camera. It's just that HTC did not optimize hardware and software when it comes to the camera department. We've seen big improvements by adjusting certain settings manually, and at the end of the day, it should perform better as we now have 5 times the pixel count. Yeah... People complained about the 4 'ultrapixel' setup, and now we have 20MP. It just needs to be optimized, which HTC hasn't done so yet.

I heard a quote from some guy once that said "It's not having what you want, but wanting what you have".....
Do I want the M9.. Sure, why not. It is improved in many ways over the M8. Do I really need it... well, to each their own.
Would I recommend this phone to others who are upgrading (say from M7, or other older phone)?. Yes. BUT it depends on what they want out of their smartphone. Picture quality? I will probably go with S6, Note 4, other. Everything else? I like the M9.

 

[msm0511]

I got my gunmetal M9 in today, so I thought I'd give my initial impressions. I'll probably repost after a few days when I have more time with it as well.

The good:
It's a beautiful phone, and the pics/videos don't do it justice. On the gunmetal version the sides are a shiny black, while the rest of the device is a darker gunmetal than the M8. The back looks really elegant, while the front has a more industrial look. I would say the back looks better than my iPhone 6, but the front isn't as elegant as the iPhone. I still think the front looks good though.
It feels great in the hand. It has weight, but it's not too heavy or wide. I don't so much worry about the height of a phone. Width is more important to me.
I have no problems with the display as some reviewers mentioned. It's a little cooler, but not super noticeable sitting next to my iPhone. I watched the Avengers trailer, and the only time I really noticed a big difference is when the screen is using all primary colors. I'd imagine animated videos might not look so good, but I haven't tried that yet. Skin tones are a little cooler, but don't look unnatural.
The sound coming from the speakers is as impressive as ever. It may be a little quieter, but the quality of sound more than makes up for it. The theater mode sounds amazing. The music mode is a little louder (about the volume I remember from the M8), but loses some of the clarity and punch of theater mode.
The interface is great. If you liked Sense in the past, you'll like the newest version. I removed Sense Home because I didn't think it would be useful, and I prefer a less cluttered display. I may put it back to test on one of the secondary screens just to give it a shot later. The themes are cool, but I haven't really delved too deeply into making my own (I've only had the phone since this afternoon).
Everything is really smooth with no choppiness or stuttering that I've seen so far.

The bad:
It drives me a little crazy that I can't seem to find a way to turn on a notification sound for incoming email using the stock mail app. There's probably a setting to do so, but I haven't found it yet.
Also I can't seem to find a way to set custom SMS notification alerts for different people. I use this a lot. It really bothers me, probably more than it should.
This is with all of Android, but I still find iOS apps to look a little better, and in some cases more functional than their Android counterparts. Not HTC's fault though.

The indifferent:
I don't find the sleep/wake button to be as uncomfortable to press as some reviewers, but it is a little low for my taste. I do push the volume down button sometimes instead of hitting the sleep/wake. I may or may not get used to it over time.
I use a MBP as my computer, and I find transferring things back and forth to be cumbersome. It's not really a dealbreaker, but I do wish there was a smoother alternative.
I prefer the screen to light up when I get incoming text messages. I know I had an app on my M8 that handled that, but I've forgotten what it's called. It's a little disappointing it doesn't have the option out of the box though.

Not tested:
The two biggest gripes forum members and reviewers have seem to be the battery life and camera. Unfortunately I just haven't had the phone long enough to make a decision either way. While setting up I didn't even have a sim in it, and kept it charging. Since then It's been charging on and off while I moved photos, music, ringtones, etc. from my computer to the phone. I did notice one possibly bad omen for battery life. While testing the video between the iPhone 6 and M9 I turned brightness to 100% and auto-brightness off on both devices. They both started almost fully charged. The iPhone's battery percentage didn't change, but the M9 went down 3%. I've only taken 3 photos. All on auto and in my bedroom after work. They weren't good, but not bad either. Just kinda somewhere inbetween. Hopefully my next off day I'll be able to take both phones out and about with me to take some photos to compare.

Sorry if I rambled. Just getting my first impressions out there.

 

[msm0511]

Reviewers didn't say the power button was uncomfortable. The consensus I saw was everyone kept hitting the volume button, thinking it was the power button like you did. So there is some validity to what the reviewers had to say.

I saw several that said it was awkward and uncomfortable.

 

[Alex_NJ]

I prefer the screen to light up when I get incoming text messages. I know I had an app on my M8 that handled that, but I've forgotten what it's called. It's a little disappointing it doesn't have the option out of the box though.

This is the only feature I miss from my iPhone.

 

[neo905]

This is the only feature I miss from my iPhone.

Floatify app allows you to do this and has loads of customization. I can't seem to get it to override the Lollipop motivation system though.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Adam_ation]

The bad:
It drives me a little crazy that I can't seem to find a way to turn on a notification sound for incoming email using the stock mail app.

If your open to alternatives you should try cloudmagic for your mail, its fantastic. The stock mail app doesn't let me view images and it drives me crazy - Adam

 

[firedfoxd]

I prefer the screen to light up when I get incoming text messages. I know I had an app on my M8 that handled that, but I've forgotten what it's called. It's a little disappointing it doesn't have the option out of the box though.

Dinamic Notifications works like the software that the latest Motorola phones come with, give it a try

 

[msm0511]

Thanks for the tips guys! That's what these forums are supposed to be about. Learning and helping one another, not just complaining and bashing devices the poster has no intention of using.

 

[msm0511]

If your open to alternatives you should try cloudmagic for your mail, its fantastic. The stock mail app doesn't let me view images and it drives me crazy - Adam

I can view images in stock mail, but I have to click on them first.

 

[msm0511]

If your open to alternatives you should try cloudmagic for your mail, its fantastic. The stock mail app doesn't let me view images and it drives me crazy - Adam

I checked out cloudmagic. It looks like in order to have a few email accts I'd have to get the paid 4.99/month service. I don't mind paying, but that's a little more than I wanna spend every month on email. I may just get Boxer Pro. I'm gonna try cloudmagic free first though to see if it's worth 50 bucks a year.

 

[Adam_ation]

I checked out cloudmagic. It looks like in order to have a few email accts I'd have to get the paid 4.99/month service. I don't mind paying, but that's a little more than I wanna spend every month on email. I may just get Boxer Pro. I'm gonna try cloudmagic free first though to see if it's worth 50 bucks a year.

Ah my apologies for not mentioning that, I wasn't actually aware as I only need 1 account connected.

It really is a nice app though I'm sure you will enjoy your free time with it - Adam

 

[msm0511]

Ah my apologies for not mentioning that, I wasn't actually aware as I only need 1 account connected.

It really is a nice app though I'm sure you will enjoy your free time with it - Adam

I downloaded it. It's really nice. Apparently they did away with the pro version. I liked it enough that I set it as default and disabled other mail options. I just wish it had a badge count. Thanks!

 

[Altema22]

Just press any of the volume buttons and specify priority mode. It's much better.

Posted via the Android Central App

Thanks for the tip!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Altema22]

I got a chance to take a look at the M9 at Best Buy today, and it does look better in real life. I have two M8, and the M9 is coated with something that makes it less slippery. I like the look of the edge where the back and sides meet, but not the feel so much. Seems like there should have been a very small chamfer on that edge. The rest of the phone looks great, and I'm sure it will get stares like the M4, 7, and 8.

Being an engineer and tester, I would like to comment on the battery, warmth, and audio. Battery: It is entirely correct that lithium polymer power cells do not need to be conditioned. Their life span is determined by the total voltage flowing through them, not the number of times they get charged. That being said, the software on these phones does need a few cycles to learn usage and optimization patterns. This is nothing new, and even cars will lose some economy when the PCM is reset until they learn driving habits and conditions. Chrysler has an official "Quick Learn" procedure for speeding up the process of the transmission getting back to optimum performance. I experienced this with the recent Lolipop update as well, and the battery life was iffy the first few cycles, but is now pretty good. I will NOT be quite the same on the M9 because it is using a more powerful processor, but I would expect that battery life will become better by the end of the week for most users.

Heat: This is a metal backed phone with eight processor cores. Aluminium has a high thermal conductivity rate thanks to the cubic grain structure. In laymen's terms, it means that it carries heat away from the insides efficiently. You will feel it much more than if the back was an insulator like plastic or leather or glass. My M4 (HTC One mini) would reach 113 degrees F while playing Leo's Fortune, so the 111 degrees F (44C) mentioned earlier is not a big deal.

Sound: The speakers on the M9 are just as good as the M8. What is different is the wider frequency response of the M9. Losing a couple DB of volume is expected when you enhance the quality, as the accoustic energy is distributed across a broader spectrum. I say this as a patented speaker designer.

Lastly, I've never had to reset or reload an HTC phone because of lag. I keep the basic powersave mode on all the time because the M8 is so stupid fast and smooth, even when the CPU is held back. The M9 is even faster. Now, there are OTHER phones that I've had get slow over time, and this is a problem that my co-workers and my son experience. HTC, however, has that part figured out, and I'd expect the M9 to keep it's speed just like the previous One's

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jdunker26]

I got a chance to take a look at the M9 at Best Buy today, and it does look better in real life. I have two M8, and the M9 is coated with something that makes it less slippery. I like the look of the edge where the back and sides meet, but not the feel so much. Seems like there should have been a very small chamfer on that edge. The rest of the phone looks great, and I'm sure it will get stares like the M4, 7, and 8.

Being an engineer and tester, I would like to comment on the battery, warmth, and audio. Battery: It is entirely correct that lithium polymer power cells do not need to be conditioned. Their life span is determined by the total voltage flowing through them, not the number of times they get charged. That being said, the software on these phones does need a few cycles to learn usage and optimization patterns. This is nothing new, and even cars will lose some economy when the PCM is reset until they learn driving habits and conditions. Chrysler has an official "Quick Learn" procedure for speeding up the process of the transmission getting back to optimum performance. I experienced this with the recent Lolipop update as well, and the battery life was iffy the first few cycles, but is now pretty good. I will NOT be quite the same on the M9 because it is using a more powerful processor, but I would expect that battery life will become better by the end of the week for most users.

Heat: This is a metal backed phone with eight processor cores. Aluminium has a high thermal conductivity rate thanks to the cubic grain structure. In laymen's terms, it means that it carries heat away from the insides efficiently. You will feel it much more than if the back was an insulator like plastic or leather or glass. My M4 (HTC One mini) would reach 113 degrees F while playing Leo's Fortune, so the 111 degrees F (44C) mentioned earlier is not a big deal.

Sound: The speakers on the M9 are just as good as the M8. What is different is the wider frequency response of the M9. Losing a couple DB of volume is expected when you enhance the quality, as the accoustic energy is distributed across a broader spectrum. I say this as a patented speaker designer.

Lastly, I've never had to reset or reload an HTC phone because of lag. I keep the basic powersave mode on all the time because the M8 is so stupid fast and smooth, even when the CPU is held back. The M9 is even faster. Now, there are OTHER phones that I've had get slow over time, and this is a problem that my co-workers and my son experience. HTC, however, has that part figured out, and I'd expect the M9 to keep it's speed just like the previous One's

Posted via the Android Central App

Agreed. Great info.

 

[accursedvenom]

I've had my m9 for 2 days and it's a great device. Had a Lumia 925 and T-Mobile won't have a good windows device until windows 10,.so I got this. Really impressed with the quality of htc's Android phones. My last HTC was the HD7 windows phone. The m9 is ridiculously fast. I tap facebook and it's lready opened and refreshed to the latest posts.. It downloads apps like they were XX kb, instead of mb. Very happy with it.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[way2broke]

I like the M9 and like the Samsung S6 & Note 4. I've been with HTC since the ppc 6800 . They all have strong points and overall are all solid. I won't upgrade this year, not to bash the M9, I just really love my M8. People should stop wasting everyone's time with bashing... Different strokes for different folks!!! Trash talk is so annoying.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[PeteMc]

Re: HTC One M9 First Impressions

The M9 may be a great phone for a lot of people, but I'm actually having second thoughts. My biggest issue is with the phone history. For everyone I know, the highest call volume is to people they've recently called. And often new numbers dialed are redialed a number of times. The M9 defaults to the dial pad and the ONE last call you made. So you always have to hit the history button to see the full list of your recent calls.

If they fix this BUG in a patch within my trial time I might keep the phone, but otherwise it will go back. (I know, it was poor programing and it's not really a but, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.)

 

[htcrazy]

I fully agree. The more I use my M9, the more I like it. Last night I met up with a friend who works at an Apple store. His personal phone is a new M9 and he loves it. I took a number of pictures this morning and I'm quite satisfied.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[AdamHunterATC]

Re: HTC One M9 First Impressions

The M9 may be a great phone for a lot of people, but I'm actually having second thoughts. My biggest issue is with the phone history. For everyone I know, the highest call volume is to people they've recently called. And often new numbers dialed are redialed a number of times. The M9 defaults to the dial pad and the ONE last call you made. So you always have to hit the history button to see the full list of your recent calls.

If they fix this BUG in a patch within my trial time I might keep the phone, but otherwise it will go back. (I know, it was poor programing and it's not really a but, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.)

They may or may not have changed this in Sense 7 (I'm still on the M8), but on Sense 6, if you tap the three dots in the corner on the phone app, you can switch to "Large dial pad", which gives you a scrolling list up top of recent calls, favorites, and then your contacts.