Sneak Peek HTC One A9 – Tek.no

– What is it similar to, you may be thinking. Or have you already made up your mind out of the pictures in the case.

At HTC’s new One A9 resembling little on Apple iPhone models have not gone the company completely unnoticed, and it therefore became a theme when we got peek at the new phone in a small session here in Oslo. The two stripes that distinguish the metal at the back has namely been in HTC models since long before Apple’s iPhone 6 got them.

More similarities with iPhone

There is nevertheless a problem for HTC that the American company tends to take ownership of the concepts and designs. Apple, for example, not first to market with a fingerprint reader, but they nevertheless popularized solution with Touch ID. To fight against the buyers’ perception of the design comes from can be tough for a small mobile manufacturer.

HTC One A9

Size: 14,575 x 7.08 x 0.726 cm
Weight: 143 grams
Screen 5 inch, 1080p AMOLED
Hardware: Qualcomm Snapdragon 617, 8 core, Cortex A53 (4 x 1.5 GHz + 4 x 1.2 GHz), Adreno 405 GPU, 2 or 3 GB RAM (depending on model / internal storage)
Storage space: 16 or 32 GB built-in, supports memory cards
Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with HTC Sense
Technology Quick Charge 2.0, fingerprint reader
Camera 13 MP, backlit, optical stabilization, 1080p video, Ultra Pixel front camera (4 MP)
Battery 2150 mAh, be able to play HD video up to 12 hours or web surf with Wi-Fi up to 9 hours.

Price: Around 6,000 million

That handset also has what looks like a physical home button at the bottom center was not an issue during trial run, nor the circular camera lens sticking out the back. There is incidentally no ordinary button concealed beneath the screen. It just looks like one. It can not be pressed or moved, instead it is a stationary finger sensor that works by adding your finger on it.

It is a bit unusual that it does not move or give any kind of physical feedback, but it seemed to work well and quickly when we got the phone demonstrated. We did not manage to add your own fingerprints on the phone.

Well built and with convenient lock button

The phone is extremely thin, and it feels well built. Shall we stick us in one detail, it might lock key on the side of the phone. It has indented grooves, which makes it easily distinguishable from volume knob further up the side of the phone. A brillefin detail that seems small, but can mean a part in daily life.

These two varieties are currently for sale in Norway. The gray comes first. There is also a silver variant, but it is unlikely to be sold here. Photo: Finn Jarle Kvalheim, Tek.no

HTC One claims A9 is for people who are not so keen specifications. On the one hand it is quite right that specifications means less in 2015 than in previous years. Just a few years ago working mobile hardware constant in arrears to deliver a fast and smooth user experience. Now the hottest phones so much effort that the menu system is not able to use up everything.

Meanwhile tend such claims from mobile manufacturers to mean that it is a good idea to actually take a look at the specification list. Some stow reasonable tripe away behind hefty design, over a price tag and messages that hardware is not so important.

Lacking the powerful stereo speakers

HTC phone has both design and the hefty price tag. Around 6000 million phone should cost here in the country, but inside hides a Snapdragon 617 chip which is approximately halfway through Qualcomm’s selection. In raw performance, we expect therefore that One A9 can not withstand the hottest top models on the market. That said, we did not notice lags in A9 models we tried.

Stereo speakers have given way in One A9. It is a pity, for it is one of the unique features of the phones in One M series. Photo: Finn Jarle Kvalheim, Tek.no

We may just as well bring us even a slight letdown with A9 before we move on to the good stuff. Boom Sound has been a hallmark of One models. The name refers to the powerful built-in amplifier and stereo speakers on the front. The latter is omitted in One A9. Thus sounds about as good or bad as any other phone before you put in your headphones.

The amplifier is however still with, so if you have a heavy driven set of earphones shall One A9 be able to drive them better than almost all other phones.

Some special camera

One A9 has incidentally a camera that protrude from the back. Again a design element that evokes deja vu, but HTC’s phone is the camera located on the center of the phone and not out in a corner such as the iPhone models.

Here HTC gone for a fairly ordinary camera chip again, instead of Ultra Pixel solution they launched the first of the aluminum-clad One models. As in One M9 however, it is an Ultra Pixel camera looking at the front side. The reason is that it should manage with less light, and thus are better suited as selfies camera when you do not have flash available.

The rear camera delivers RAW files and has optical stabilization. Photo: Finn Jarle Kvalheim, Tek.no

What is most fascinating about the camera is that it, like a few other mobiles including LG G4 , is able to deliver raw files directly from the camera chip. Thus, one is far freer if one wants to do something with the images themselves. About Audience who want to edit raw images are the same who do not care so much about the specifications of a phone we are still a bit unsure.

First out with Android 6.0 from the start

One A9 does however appear to be the first phone on the Norwegian market with Android 6.0 from sales start. Both Nexus models come a little way into November, while One A9 will be on sale from the end of October.

This means that you get the opportunity to choose rights for apps running. For example, refuse Facebook to harvest information from all parts of the phone so the app basically want. In addition, Android 6.0 collect storage internally and on memory card into one big memory, allowing storage for absolutely any purpose increases if you insert a memory card. How this worked has varied little across phone models and Android versions.

HTC still news service Blink Feed on one of your home screens. Photo: Finn Jarle Kvalheim, Tek.no

Relatively small battery

The pebbled lock key making it very easy to tell the difference between it and the volume keys over. Photo: Finn Jarle Kvalheim, Tek.no

Another exciting thing is Doze, a Power Save feature that will reduce fuel consumption sharply when the phone just is quiet. It can also suspect that One A9 need. It has namely a battery of 2150 mAh paltry. There are around 30 percent lower than for models with the largest batteries and 3-400 mAh lower than for top mobiles public.

HTC laws still at One A9 should last at least as long as the top models that everything is on the market practical use. Exactly where the cause is difficult to say. It can be both power system kind piece, AMOLED screen in combination with a lot of black or Android 6.0 that makes the phone in case manage with this battery size. Probably it’s a combination.

If it is principally about efficiency gains from Android 6.0, however the battery life for the competition also go sharply up as soon as they are upgraded to the latest generation of Android. Currently, this is speculation, and in our brief time with One A9 was obviously not the time to determine if the battery life is good enough. It will definitely be a major focus when the phone is going to test.

Are you replacing telephone and will have Android 6.0 as soon as possible? If so, it might be an idea to look more closely at LG’s G4 to get update shortly. Also Google’s own Nexus models come in a few weeks. Here you will find sneak peek at Nexus 5X produced by LG, and here you’ll sneak peek at Nexus 6P manufactured by Huawei.