HTC unveiled the One M9 at the MWC trade show in Barcelona, Spain yesterday. The company had provided many publications with the handset a week before their official announcement, so as soon as the company announced the handset yesterday, a lot of publications pushed their thoughts about the handset live as well.
So, what does the tech press think about HTC’s latest flagship? Are they disappointed with the design of the handset? Is the 20MP rear camera on the handset any good? Let us take a look at what they think.
The publication called the One M9 “the world’s most beautiful disappointment,” and found its camera to be “mediocre.”
On its design, The Verge had this to say.
I have been using the HTC One M9 in the week ahead of its launch here at MWC, seeking to understand the total effect of all the big and small changes that HTC has made. The first time I saw the new device, I confused it for the old one.
Putting my hands on the One M9 revealed more pronounced edges on its sides and a much less slippery surface finish than on the One M8. Some of the curvy refinement is lost, but a lot has been gained in ensuring a reliable single-handed grip of the phone.
As for the camera, this is what the publication said.
Regrettably, my initial impression of this camera is not a positive one. Image noise is present in most of my pictures, and low-light photography is basically a disaster. I was reminded of BlackBerry’s consistently inadequate cameras in the devices that preceded the Passport. Like them, the HTC One M9 lacks optical image stabilization, which the company justifies on account of physical space constraints. The image sensor also appears to be an odd size as the “regular” image ratio is 10:7, and there’s no 4:3 option to be found.
Design:
And if you want to talk about HTC making a big difference with little improvements, the body is where we’d start. The M9 is actually just a hair smaller than the M8. It’s a tad more narrow, and just a wee bit shorter. There’s also a different finish on the edge trim, and it’s created a small shelf on the sides of the phone. And that — in addition to what feels like slightly different coating on the metal itself — makes the phone feel a little bit smaller and a lot less slippery than the M8.
Camera:
We’ve gotten some pretty good pictures in good lighting. The biggest change perhaps is that you can now zoom in before taking the picture and actually come away with something usable. Same goes for cropping in later. That just wasn’t the case with UltraPixel. We were, however, underwhelmed when in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. It’s tough to take pictures in the dark. And in giving up UltraPixel we’re giving up some of that ability to collect light.
Design:
HTC cited the Porsche when explaining its approach to building the One M9, drawing a parallel to small iterations on a successful design. The company also said it wanted to strike a balance between the precision look of the One M7 and the ergonomic feel of the One M8, and in this regard HTC succeeded. While the curves of last year’s phone remain, there’s definitely more of the M7 in the new phone’s feel in hand: The anodized sides and back meet in a sharp corner –a little too sharp, as far as my palms are concerned– and they’re visually separated by a dual-finish construction that leaves the sides chromed and glossy while the back retains the familiar brushed-hairline finish.
Camera:
If you’re wondering about the main camera’s output, Im afraid you’ll have to keep wondering a bit longer: while I shot plenty of photos with the M9, performance was inconsistent. HTC made it clear that the camera software is still being tweaked, so the sample photos shown here may not be indicative of what we see on the finished product.
If the initial hands-on of the One M9 are anything to go by, it looks like the camera performance of the handset is still below par. It looks like Samsung has an edge over HTC this time around, since the initial impressions of the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge have been pretty positive.
What do you think? Is the HTC One M9 a better handset than the Galaxy S6?
