AnandTech has its usual in-depth review up for the HTC One M9, and it comes in two parts because of an extensive HTC software update midway through their review process. Their conclusion is… Not good.
Overall, further testing of the One M9 basically confirms my fears, which were that the One M9 is effectively a sidegrade of the One M8 at best. I really did want to like this phone, as I still find the One M7 to be a great phone to use. I really wanted to see a phone from HTC that was worthy of an upgrade from the One M7, but the One M9 isn’t that phone. In fact, given that the One M8 is at least 200 dollars cheaper than the One M9 on contract, I find it incredibly difficult to recommend the One M9. It will definitely have its fans, but overall there are more negatives than positives. Given the competitive positioning of the One M9, the timing of the Snapdragon 810, and the strength of the Galaxy S6 I’m faced with an intense sense of déjà vu. It almost feels like we’re back where we started 3 years ago with the Sensation and Galaxy S2. I can’t think of a better way to describe the situation HTC is in, which is alarming to say the least. The One M9 can’t be another Sensation, but it feels like it is.
This is not what HTC needs – at all. It seems like all the negative points of previous One devices remain, while it also adds a number of new problems. If HTC really wants to turn itself around – it needs to bring more than this.
Qualcomm can deny it as much as they want, but the snapdragon 810 is a dud and is going to hurt all android manufacturers.
Between that and the arrival of usb-c, I think I will pass on this generation’s phones.
Galaxy S6. Uses Samsung’s own processor.
It’s very obviously the best phone of the current generation. I just wish they’d kept it water resistant.
I’ll just wait for the Xperia Z5.
Why is it a dud? (genuine question)
Not sure where I read it (maybe ars?) , but it seems to perform worse than the previous revision at times. At least within this phone when compared to the m8. Maybe its a HTC screw up, or maybe its just the processor. Most of the time when the hardware changes so little except the processor, you can conclude that its probably the processor.
They keep making bad product decisions.
Some people don’t like the design, yet they continue to go the apple model. The only thing missing is an htc m9 c. Made out of I don’t know unapologetic inspiration. The reason I was rocking htc over again was because they made good phones. Then they went and locked bootloaders, then no sd, then the designs were more I, form over function. I would love some kickstands, keyboards or something like the olde htc.
Htc is dead to me.
Professional reviewers aside, the HTC One M9 is a nice phone.
It may not be perfect, similar in design to previous models etc, but other companies do that too and its not a problem.
It has good useable software, a proven design. The negativity from profesional reviewers is not something the ordinary user will experience.
The end user will consider the $200 price difference, especially is there is only a slight difference between the two models.
That is the consumer’s choice.
On the iphone there is often a similar choice with the “s” model – identical in design to the previous one, but with some improvements (processor, graphics etc).
This makes the HTC One M8 a compelling choice due to the lower cost, but it doesnt make the M9 a bad phone.
Per se, not. But you’d sell the M9 10x times its current price it wouldn’t make it a bad phone either. The point is, would the added $200 justify the minor improvements ?
Well, that’s the way it is with most of the latest flagships. For the most part, they’re incremental improvements, and you can always get better value by getting the previous version.
In the case of the S6, it’s such a big departure in design from the previous one, because it needed to (the S5 landed with a thud). However, spec wise, it’s mostly incremental.
Otherwise, the OEMs through in often superfluous extra features, such as heart rate monitor or fingerprint scanner, or extra app stores, or QHD, or whatever, to get the feature/spec geeks excited.
I’m still using a 2011 HTC Evo 3D GSM with pleasure. It just covers all my needs. This technology has reached maturity, as you call them, the superfluous features are not needed, especially considering they are now getting rid of the expansion slot (microsd) or replaceable battery (changed once on my HTC, when the battery inflated).
As long as they persist not to listen to consumers’ needs, they’re going to sink. And I cannot afford to change my expansive phone every year, for financial and ecological considerations. Not just for marketing bullshit. Even though HTC’s phones are great. But as I said, removing expansion and battery, and locking the bootloader again has definitively turned off HTC as a potential provider for my next phone.
tl;dr : HTC is competition going the wrong way
I picked the M9 over the S6. The exterior storage was a big plus. The screen was almost identical to my Mark one eyeball. I absolutely made the right choice for me. Even my kid agrees, playing on it six hours of games left it at 39% battery. My old Galaxy Nexus would have run down to 0% in two. My iPad can get run down in two for that matter. The new generation of Android phones are getting pretty generic. If the Droid Maxx had an expansion slot I might have done it instead. I just wish HTC had Sony’s style as the Xperia was my second choice. The S6 was meh.
All these negative reviews of the M9 are just hilarious and hypocritical. The M9 has improved over the M8 in every department except battery life, and the M8 was named one of the best smartphones of 2014. Huh??
And these benchmark tests mean little when the reviewer doesn’t comment on the actual user experience. Maybe the Samsung Exynos gets a smudge more speed in benchmark tests than the Snapdragon 810. However, a coworker of mine just got an S6, and he let me play with it. I thought the speed improved over previous Galaxy iterations, but the perceptible (as in end user experience) speed was slightly slower than my M8. This probably due to a number of factors – Touchwiz vs Sense, Quad HD vs regular 1080p HD (lots of CPU cycles to render all those extra pixels that the human eye is not capable of seeing), or whatever.
And the camera in the M9 has turned out to be quite good, after the software updates. There are some before and after reviews out there, and the difference is quite noticeable. And many of the comparison reviews with S5 iPhone 6, and M9, have shown that there is little difference (although the S6 and iPhone 6 are slightly better).
So all these reviews are criticizing M9 for not always having the latest specs, not having useless feature bloat, and not totally redesigning when they already have an award winning design. How dare they make incremental improvements an something that is already awesome.
And then the reviews (and comments) ignore the M9’s great parts – awesome design and build quality (one of the best, if not THE best), best in class speakers and sound quality, gorgeous display, lighting quick and silky smooth performance, elegant, simple, and beautiful Sense 7, great themes config, Blinkfeed, and great overall user experience.
I’ll probably be skipping the M9, simply because my M8 is still running great, and I’m in the middle of my AT&T Next cycle. By the time the cycle is almost over and my M8 is fully paid for, the M10 will coming out soon. But if I were at the end of the cycle, I’d be getting the M9 in a heartbeat.