The final nail in the coffin for HTC. HTC One A9.

[kaerflog]

http://www.phonearena.com/news/HTC-...e-expensive-than-the-unlocked-version_id74923

What ridiculous pricing for a mid-range phone.
$199 on contract with Sprint and $696 without ?? For a midrange ?
Even at $399 for the unlocked version is still $200 too high.
The looks is subjective but its bleh from every perspective. An iPhone copycat with humongous bezels. What is up with the ugly HTC logo right above the home button.
Specs wise scream mid-range. 5', 1080P, 617 Snapdragon with a tiny 2150mah battery.
Compared this to the Samsung S6, theres not one single thing that make me want this one over the S6. Its bigger in size but has a smaller screen. Lower resolution, smaller battery, slower SoC with similar pricing.

Seriously, do the people in charge of HTC have a brain ?? Now the M7 was a beauty but then they made the next 2 phones identical to it. Now its "lets make a copy cat of the iPhone 6 and hope people are stupid enough to be tricked to buying one."

If HTC make it through another 2 years, I'd be surprised.

 

[mxnerd]

Seriously? Before it came out, the bashing articles are all over the internet. And one rumor said it will be $700.

After the launch, it's not that bad. Tell me any phone in this price range that has a fingerprint sensor.

HTC One A9 hands-on: A midrange smartphone that feels like a flagship

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...-range-smartphone-that-feels-like-a-flagship/

 

[Midwayman]

Doesn't look bad for $399 unlocked off contract.

 

[middlehead]

If I hadn't already ordered an imported Z5C, I might've bought the a9. Just a little too late for HTC.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Tell me any phone in this price range that has a fingerprint sensor.

Um....Nexus 5x?

 

[mxnerd]

Um....Nexus 5x?

OK, missed that.

 

[Crono]

Not very compelling, but not cringe-worthy, either. There aren't a ton of bootloader unlocked, metal unibody phones at $400 off contract. I'd consider it over any Samsung phone at the price, but would take the Nexus 5X over it. if it had a bigger battery it would be a better competitor to the Moto X Play (which I'm still annoyed is only being sold here under Verizon as the Droid Maxx 2).

The A9 be sold alongside the M9, rather than as a replacement for it, with HTC hinting that there may be more phones coming under the "A" banner at a later date. Notably, US users will be able to buy an "Unlocked Edition" of the handset for $399 (UK pricing TBC) that's not only sim unlocked, but also bootloader unlocked. HTC is also saying that the unlocked A9 will come with less pre-installed software, six-months of free Google Play Music, and be protected by the company's Uh Oh protection, where the company will replace the phone "no questions asked" during the first year of ownership if something goes wrong, even for broken screens and water damage.

 

[luv2liv]

What do you need a finger print scanner for? On any phones I use, hitting the power button turns the phone on instantly. Don't waste time messing with any lock screen. If a thief steals my phone, there's nothing worthy in the phone and I just use a standby phone.
$400 is still over priced when there's moto g and Asus zenphone under $200

 

[cronos]

Now the M7 was a beauty but then they made the next 2 phones identical to it.

You're joking, right? They look nothing alike. Tastes are different so I understand if some people feel the opposite, but to me M8 and M9 are both way uglier than the M7.

Edit: a word

 

[cronos]

What do you need a finger print scanner for? On any phones I use, hitting the power button turns the phone on instantly. Don't waste time messing with any lock screen. If a thief steals my phone, there's nothing worthy in the phone and I just use a standby phone.
$400 is still over priced when there's moto g and Asus zenphone under $200

Locking the phone is required for phone-based payment, which a lot of people are doing now with Android Pay and Samsung Pay accepted almost everywhere, and unlocking with just your thumb is way easier than the other alternatives.

 

[Crono]

You're joking, right? They look nothing alike. Tastes are different so I understand if some people feel the opposite, but to me M8 and M9 are both way uglier than the M7.

Edit: a word

"Nothing alike" is a bit of an exaggeration. I'd say they do look similar, but that's true of every flagship series. The iPhone, Galaxy S, Note, Moto X, LG G, etc all keep a similar aesthetic from generation to generation.

 

[Midwayman]

Locking the phone is required for phone-based payment, which a lot of people are doing now with Android Pay and Samsung Pay accepted almost everywhere, and unlocking with just your thumb is way easier than the other alternatives.

Its also great for things like password managers, etc.

 

[postmortemIA]

It has micro SD card slot unlike all other flagship phones (other than moto pure x)

But yeah other than that, copied everything from iPhone, including the small battery

Really battery is the real deal breaker here. Otherwise would be tolerable. Remember that $399 is premium version with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Now M9 is about $450 unlocked, but it has seriously better CPU.
They'll have to sell base version south of $350 or it is time to go bye-bye.

 

[Seven]

$399 is still a better buy than the Nexus 5X. You get a better build quality, probably a more efficient cpu, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, Gorilla Glass 4, quick charge, prolly better speakers, microSD. The only concern is the camera. The Nexus 5X is knock off device.

 

[cronos]

"Nothing alike" is a bit of an exaggeration. I'd say they do look similar, but that's true of every flagship series. The iPhone, Galaxy S, Note, Moto X, LG G, etc all keep a similar aesthetic from generation to generation.

It's absolutely an exaggeration, because they're ugly, while the M7 is so pretty! ()

To elaborate a little bit, what I hated from phone designs are the curves. Mostly because of where these are located. The M7 has minimal curves in all the right places, while the M8 and M9 added the amount of curves, in all the wrong places. That's why I was so disappointed when they came out, because to me they're getting uglier, while I was expecting them to get prettier. For a different example, I hated all the shapes of the Galaxy S series (again, because of the curves), until the S6, which is the first Galaxy S that I thought looks good.

 

[lopri]

Probably not a fair comparison but Meizu Pro 5's design is cleaner. That button + logo combo is deadly..

 

[isekii]

Is apple going to sue?

 

[thilanliyan]

Besides the missing front stereo speakers I like it... Coming from an m7 user. Really glad they went with an amoled panel. Wish the battery was bigger but maybe marshmallow will help with that.

 

[mxnerd]

Is apple going to sue?

No, Apple copied HTC's white antenna in the back.

 

[vi edit]

What do you need a finger print scanner for? On any phones I use, hitting the power button turns the phone on instantly. Don't waste time messing with any lock screen. If a thief steals my phone, there's nothing worthy in the phone and I just use a standby phone.
$400 is still over priced when there's moto g and Asus zenphone under $200

You obviously don't have kids or a job that requires password locks for email.

Or hell, even just basic security passthrough for email apps or the play store.

I'm looking at the 5X explicitly *for* the fingerprint scanner.

 

[shabby]

I thought htc was normally hiding those boomsound speakers under those humongous bezel's, what are they hiding now?

 

[dawheat]

What do you need a finger print scanner for? On any phones I use, hitting the power button turns the phone on instantly. Don't waste time messing with any lock screen. If a thief steals my phone, there's nothing worthy in the phone and I just use a standby phone.
$400 is still over priced when there's moto g and Asus zenphone under $200

I mean everyone is different but this sounds pretty insane in this day and age. Besides Android Pay and work email, I'd hate the idea of some stranger having access to a ton of personal data. Sure it may not be sensitive or bring financial harm, but they could:

- go through your email (personal correspondence, receipts, etc)
- photos of your family/friends
- read/post/screw around with your social networks (Linkedin, FB, Twitter, etc)
- go through your SMS which could contain a ton of personal info
- grab your contacts
- grab an Uber, Starbucks, or any number of apps that don't require login

 

[kaerflog]

You're joking, right? They look nothing alike. Tastes are different so I understand if some people feel the opposite, but to me M8 and M9 are both way uglier than the M7.

Edit: a word

Really ??? They look nothing alike ??? Look all the same to me except for the different in color shading. All three are like triplets with different haircuts.
The M7 is a bit more square-er but the M8 and M9 looks identical to me.

 

[kaerflog]

This has been HTC moto the last 3-4 years.
"I don't care what it takes but we need to have a useless big black bar with the HTC logo on it"

 

[cronos]

Really ??? They look nothing alike ??? Look all the same to me except for the different in color shading. All three are like triplets with different haircuts.
The M7 is a bit more square-er but the M8 and M9 looks identical to me.

Yup. That's exactly what I care about, the ugly curves on the M8 and M9 that ruined the phones for me (and why I said they don't look like the M7). More explanation in my previous post.

In case you're wondering, I was basically agreeing with your original post that 'the M7 is a beauty', although the next two are ugly and this one is basically an iPhone clone. So we're in agreement that this one is even more terrible.

Also, you were comparing the A9 to Galaxy S6. That's not exactly fair.