Review HTC One A9: The Definitive imitation iPhone

The Taiwanese manufacturer intends to add some points before the end of the year. This time the focus is not in hardware but in the design and functionality. Discover everything you need to know the new flagship HTC One A9 in this review.

HTC One A9 – Design

From the first glance it is clear: the design that has inspired the HTC One A9 is clearly the iPhone 6. HTC has said repeatedly that they were the first to build a unibody phone with metal housing, and that the HTC One A9 is a logical evolution of its design line. Still, the similarity to the iPhone 6 is undeniable. Even Cher Wang said in an event that the HTC One A9 is a good alternative to iPhone 6s.

The aluminum body feels good in the hand as it has no edge. Their metallic nature means that conducts heat well, the bad is that it can reach a lot of heat. In our performance tests it has reached 50 degrees Celsius and this makes sometimes want to let it go quickly.

Curved lines, the lines at the top and bottom, and the camera lens protruding slightly make it seem that we are facing an iPhone 6s. The camera is not on the side and is situated in the center of the top, unlike the iPhone, but those are just minor details.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the new HTC One A9 brings several new features compared to other phones from Taiwanese manufacturer. The button has a different touch and the metal has been polished to provide a different feel from that of, for example, the HTC One M9.

Under the screen, on the front we find the start button, quite reminiscent to the OnePlus 2. As in this Chinese phone, it is a capacitive button with an integrated fingerprint sensor. To unlock the phone is only necessary to place the finger on the start button.

Surprisingly, HTC has integrated a AMOLED screen “only” 5 inches. This causes the upper and lower frames are quite large.

HTC One A9 – Screen

The 5-inch AMOLED screen shows a strong and appropriate brightness for this type of technology. Some may think that a Full HD resolution for a phone of this kind is insufficient. However, the human eye is almost unable to perceive the difference between QHD and Full HD on a 5-inch screen.

Even more useful is the 2K resolution Gorilla Glass sheet 4 which is integrated on the screen, which offers good protection against scratches and dings. The panel edges are also rounded, which is called 2.5D glass, which transmits a pretty nice feeling in daily use. At the edges of the screen we find no sharp edge as we see in the Xperia Z5.

HTC One A9 – Special Functions

Like many other flagships who are preparing for the arrival of Android Marshmallow, the HTC One A9 also has a fingerprint sensor. The device is capable of recognizing up to four different tracks from any angle support. It works pretty good.

The sensor also functions as start button, so you can wake up and unlock the device directly. Operation very similar to the OnePlus 2.

HTC One A9 – Software

The HTC One A9 Software is very new, so new that it is not completely finished. The test device we received received an update a few minutes of being turned on. It is light and stable, but offers little autonomy and brings bad grades in benchmarks.

The invitation to the event presentation and announced that this would bring Android 6.0 smartphone Marshmallow. As expected, HTC has created its own Sense interface based on this version.

Although HTC Sense is an interface that appeals to everyone, it is quite gratifying to see the first HTC phone to run Android 6.0. HTC Sense 7.0 interface is a shy only affects the skin of Android. It has few extra features and is mainly just a visual change.

The manufacturer has eliminated a lot of applications and interface has directly offered the Google Play. This way applications can be updated with new functions camera without having to wait a OTA.

One A9 users also will be able to be confident about security patches and updates. HTC is committed to updating the device 15 after the Nexus do.

In our performance tests on the terminal experiment some problems and excessive heat. These teething problems are expected to be remedied before they start sales.

HTC One A9 – Performance

The HTC One A9 has survived to our reference test (AnTuTu, Geekbench 3 BaseMark X 1.1 and Vellamo, with three passes each), although we have seen suffer. In a test with suspended BaseMark X 1.1 even reaching 60 ° and consume 18% of battery. Eventually the operating system had to intervene and close the apliccación

This should be improved. If we compare the results with our benchmark the Galaxy S6, the A9 One 49% below the falls, and is even surpassed by the great Nexus 5, 2013.

The HTC One A9 does not have the hardware that is expected of a flagship (in part because there is a flagship). Instead, this phone could be classified as a model of upper-middle range with a premium feel and design.

Inside we find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor. This 64-bit chip with eight cores is based on the ARM Cortex A53 and brings a maximum clock speed of 1.5 GHz. This was accompanied by 2 GB of RAM and an unimpressive internal memory of 16 GB, but at least we can extend through a slot to enter a microSDXC card up to 2 TB.

All benchmark tests fall far below what would be expected from their hardware. We hope that soon receive a software update to climb up to twice the performance demonstrating.

HTC One A9 – Audio

Unlike many of the good line devices One, HTC has decided to end stereo sound in One A9. The sound of your main speakers is not the best I’ve ever heard. It has a very metallic sound without sufficient bass. HTC has forgotten to put an equalizer in the software to improve the sound manually.

Headphones incorporating sound a little better. It has an option called BoomSound that can be activated in the sound settings for low and medium rise. It is the only function that helps a little to equalization.

HTC One A9 – Camera

I can say that the best of HTC One A9 is its camera. It is capable of taking good quality souvenirs. The camera application HTC with the A9 is equipped has a few manual options. Also a good image processing.

HTC has not included an impressive hardware on your new phone. However, the goal here is not to introduce a comparable sensor with LG or Samsung Galaxy S6 G4, but to offer a quick and simple user experience. A functional camera and knows react quickly.

The main camera captures images with a maximum resolution of 13 megapixels in 4: 3 format. Those who prefer a 16: 9 format will have to stay in the 10 megapixels. The aperture is f / 2.0 and features an optical image stabilizer. Both should ensure the capture of less blur and clearer images in low light.

The camera also shoots video at high quality Full HD, which benefits from the optical image stabilizer. The photographers will have to switch to manual mode, you can adjust the color temperature, shutter speed, ISO speed and exposure through a graphic.

The white balance can be adjusted between 2,300 and 7,500 Kelvin. The ISO 100 to 1,600. The opening time of the shutter goes up to 1/8000 seconds. In addition, you can adjust the focus manually.

RAW images can be edited directly on the device. Even in the unfortunate fire in which we burn the picture we find in the postprodución details that would be lost in a JPG format.

The front camera has returned to four ultra-pixels. The opening comes af / 2.0, but the images will not become everything I’d clear that at low light and noise inevitably appears.

Color reproduction in both chambers is pretty good. Unlike other camera manufacturers, HTC usually have good whites and good skin tone. Discover a little more of the qualities of the chambers of the HTC One A9 in this gallery:

HTC One A9 – Battery

Its 2150 mAh battery does not meet the expectations and provides a mediocre experience. For those of us we spent the day taking pictures and playing A9 us falls short. With Marshmallow saves a lot of battery in the time we left at rest, after collecting almost the same level of battery. But when the thing starts falling rapidly.

HTC has included the entire package incorporating Doze Marshmallow, which cuts short communications if device much downtime. In the end use energy saving mode it is where the A9 survived longer, but at the cost of only communicate by calls, SMS or email

The HTC One A9 supports both Quick Charge Quick Charge 2.0 and 3.0, Snapdragon native function 617. However, the charger HTC provides is only incomprehensibly compatible with Quick Charge 2.0.

Verdict

Apparently the HTC Ono A9 has been designed for users who want an iPhone but like Android 6.0 Marshmallow and reasonably priced device. The result if that resembles the iPhone but the other features quite disappointed, except the camera.

The software needs a good look as it gives the impression of not being completely finished. The yield is positioned below the mean for riding specifications. The price is a bit exorbitant and other devices with similar hardware and better performance are around € 300. Alternatively may be the Moto G with more autonomy and quality similar images.

Who is decided by A9 One alternative to the iPhone 6 will soon regret the purchase. The internal memory fills up quickly and the battery also just very fast. Users of A9 I see them carrying the charger everywhere and living in fear of being stranded.

Although the design and finish are excellent user experience has reminded me of the typical imitation iPhone that you can buy in China, only this time the price is 10 times less than the cost of Apple’s smartphone.