What Are Your Impressions on The HTC A9

[Jetblackdiamond]

Of course word has been buzzing around stating that the HTC A9 looks identical to some other smartphone *cough* Apple *cough* but what are your thoughts on the A9, are u buying this device? And why?

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[neo905]

It hasn't even been officially released yet. You couldn't wait another 6 hours before asking?

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Now that it's officially out, I can give my full impressions.

Personally, I don't like the design. Not because it's ugly. It's because due to the obvious resemblance to the iPhone 6, it looks somewhat uninspired. Many "iPhone-inspired" phones have their own design changes, so they don't look that similar. HTC's A9 is more-or-less like an iPhone clone, apart from the camera placement and the front. I'm pretty sure that there are some out there who like the design and I don't fault them. I just feel that HTC lost its sense of unique design, which makes me feel rather sad. (Before you say Apple copied HTC, the iPhone 6 only had a similar antenna band design to the M7. The rest of the phone took design cues from the 5th generation iPod touch). The bezels also looks a bit too thick for my liking.

In terms of hardware, it's pretty solid. SD617, 3GB of RAM with the 32GB model, 1080p AMOLED display, 24-bit/192KHz audio support and all that. Nothing to write home about. Capable hardware that's decidedly upper-midrange, exactly the point of the A9.

Instead, the main pros of this phone come from the software. Sense has been lightened and resembles stock Android more. HTC is also promising updates within 15 days after Nexus phones, which is very bold and we'll see if they can keep their promise. Aside from that, Sense is snappy, responsive and largely clutter-free.

We'll have to wait to get a final verdict.

 

[delta7]

I like it but then again I lie simple phones. I like the weight it's light and portable and I like the design. I have the m9 which is nice but the weight me. Thickness and the heat bother me. Looks good to me.

I don't think they're a better built phone than the m9 though this thing is a tank.

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[SactoKingsFan]

Not interested. If I get a HTC phone it will have front facing speakers and bigger battery.

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[Cakefish]

The red colour is gorgeous. The price is nonsensical.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[cooperb21]

Its the death of HTC two crap phones in a row. They wont be around much longer.

 

[DJ Grand Theft Audio]

If they nail the battery life and it lasts much longer than the iPhone then they are onto a winner.
But looking at the size of that battery I don't think so.

It doesn't matter if it looks like an iPhone. As long as it's much better than the iPhone.

 

[Cakefish]

I really like the design of the phone (in red). I also love the more Google-y Sense UI. Also, the 5" screen is the perfect size for me (the bezels could still have been smaller but not a deal breaker).

It's the small battery capacity, lack of front-facing stereo speakers and fact that the UK gets a crippled version compared to the US for a far more expensive asking price that concerns me.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

The more I look at it, it looks like the front of the Galaxy S6 combined with the back of the iPhone 6S.

 

[PenguinBelly]

I do not care so much for similarity with other phones, but the phone looks really cluttered and nothing is aligned. Top and bottom bezel sizes, the antena bands in the back, USB port, fingerprint scanner, speaker, all asymmetrically placed. It's as if they did it on purpose.

 

[Jetblackdiamond]

Gotta Go Fast haha

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[mfreeland]

I think a lot of people are missing the point of this phone: It's a mid priced smart phone. It's not their new flag ship. It looks really good for the price point. Looks like they made some drastic improvement to the camera. If the battery like is somewhat decent and the camera actually performs like the specs say it should, this phone should sell well. I don't care if it looks like an iPhone. Apple copied HTC originally anyways. If they hit the camera and battery mark, I can't wait to see what the flagship will look like in March!

 

[Jetblackdiamond]

I was kinda dissapointed really because it does resemble the iphone 6 from the back,no matter what, people will still recognize it as a blatant copy of the iphone 6 due to the popularity of the Apple iphone. But If you look closely in one of their promo videos on the A9, they showed the HTC Flagship lineups agaisnt each other and the backs of each phone were really identical due to the same metal build and Antenna bands originating from the M7. However I cant say the same with the new speaker placement at the bottom of the phone or the curved frame around the phone.Performance wise, I agree that it would be snappy since sense UI isnt loaded with bloatware.At least they are improving in some areas like the improvised camera, the acclaimed 15 days update after the Nexus gets it's update and Carrier free if im not mistaken . The A9 has its ups(specs and pricing which is subjective to different countries) and downs (mainly the design and dat damned bezel they won't goddamn remove). But we'll see how it turns out for them, it would be a shame if this is the end for HTC. Although AC did write that in the UK, (Carphone Warehouse, phone retailer) badly priced the A9.....

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[Jon_Doh]

The more I look at it, it looks like the front of the Galaxy S6 combined with the back of the iPhone 6S.

The front looks exactly like the S6 and so does the bottom.

I think the blew the phone with this design. If they wanted to come out with a "beautiful" hero phone (HTC's words) they should have released something like the concept phone that went around the internet. With that design they could have kept the 5" screen in a smaller body as the screen runs right up to the edge with much smaller top and bottom bezels. The battery is pathetic. The S6 has a better battery and yet folks complain they can't past lunch without having to recharge. Instead of wasting time on fast charge they should have invested in wireless fast charging. But regardless, the weak battery is the killer for me.

 

[mfreeland]

The front looks exactly like the S6 and so does the bottom.

I think the blew the phone with this design. If they wanted to come out with a "beautiful" hero phone (HTC's words) they should have released something like the concept phone that went around the internet. With that design they could have kept the 5" screen in a smaller body as the screen runs right up to the edge with much smaller top and bottom bezels. The battery is pathetic. The S6 has a better battery and yet folks complain they can't past lunch without having to recharge. Instead of wasting time on fast charge they should have invested in wireless fast charging. But regardless, the weak battery is the killer for me.

This isn't meant to compete with S6 or iPhone. It's a mid priced smart phone...... As for the battery, it's a different processor and software. Wait and see how it actually works when it comes out. It might surprise you. (Hopefully).....

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

This isn't meant to compete with S6 or iPhone. It's a mid priced smart phone...... As for the battery, it's a different processor and software. Wait and see how it actually works when it comes out. It might surprise you. (Hopefully).....

2,150mAh is still small today. The Moto G 2015 has a bigger battery and weaker specs on paper.

I had a One M7 with a 2,300mAh battery and the battery life was abysmal. I hope it's better here too, but probably not by much.

 

[SharkyNY]

That is the one thing that does bother me. Sure it might be well optimized and may even end up have pretty good battery life. But just think how much better it would have been with at least 2450.

 

[anon(5316299)]

That is the one thing that does bother me. Sure it might be well optimized and may even end up have pretty good battery life. But just think how much better it would have been with at least 2450.

Yeah, I hear that. But I've gotten pretty used to using QC 2.0 on my ZenFone 2 to top up for 10 minutes a couple times a day...makes a world of difference. I think with QC 3.0 topping up will be even quicker.

 

[dmark44]

There are not many options right now for a 64 gb or 32gb + SD card smartphone that isn't phablet sized, so I definitely will consider this phone.

It depends on the camera performance and maybe the availability of a decent external battery case (to use when traveling, on vacation, etc.)

I'm hoping the Droid Turbo 2 is not unwieldy or ridiculously overpriced vs. the new X Pure. The A9 could be my back up plan.