HTC One A9: More than Meets the Eye

When HTC first introduced the One A9, the reaction was chiefly one-dimensional. The talk around this phone has centered on its resemblance to Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6s, which is both fair and not. There is no denying the A9 looks like an iPhone. Save for subtle differences; the rectangular fingerprint scanner and centered back camera, the phone screams Cupertino. From every angle it looks like an iPhone, and when you hand it to someone for the first time their initial comments are exclusively about its similarities to the best smartphone you can buy.

Whether you consider it a clone or not, the story around the One A9 should not hinge entirely on design. Look beyond and you’ll find a well-built device running a light skin of Android 6.0 Marshmallow that performs admirably despite its lower internals.

Hardware

The aforementioned design knocks are obvious, though HTC has defended its choice by reminding us it was a pioneer for metal, unibody design in smartphones. Those claims are not without merit, but the fact remains that many consumers will look at the A9 and, unfairly, label it a rip off. HTC deserves credit for what its done here, the build is spectacular. The aluminum and glass feel fantastic in the hand, though the flat back makes it less comfortable to hold for long periods of time compared to its earlier, rounded brothers in the One series. It’s not heavy enough to be uncomfortable, but offers plenty of heft for the phone to feel solid. I wouldn’t suggest dropping it purposefully, but the A9 doesn’t feel flimsy by any stretch. It’s one of the best feeling phones I’ve ever experienced, and I found myself making excuses just to pick it up.

The star is the brushed aluminum back panel, which is soft, smooth and does a decent job masking fingerprints (at least in the Carbon Grey version I tested). It is, like many metal phones, slippery, and a case would likely be a necessary evil if you were to purchase the device. The phone’s overall symmetry is sightly, marred a touch by the new fingerprint scanner that sits on the lower chin. The biggest downgrade is the lack of front-facing Boomsound speakers, replaced by a single, down firing speaker that pales by comparison. It’s not very loud, offers thin sound and is easy to cover up while using the phone in landscape. Often, particularly while gaming, I would forget the sound was even on because the speaker was obfuscated by my finger. HTC does offer custom audio software from Dolby, but it only gives improvements to sound when using headphones.

Removal of the speakers was forced, most likely, by the inclusion of the new fingerprint scanner. Like Samsung, HTC opted to make their scanner a long oval, or rounded rectangular shape. At times, this caused issues with recognition because it’s not a very large surface area compared to circular models on the Nexus 6P and iPhones. In general, though, the scanner was accurate enough (I would estimate it read my print correctly 80 percent of the time) and decently speedy. It is by no means the quickest scanner on the market, I always saw the lock screen before jumping to my homepage whereas I never see the lock screen on the 6P, but it’s good enough to recommend over pattern or pin lock methods.

It also works as a capacitive home button which I found myself using often over the on-screen home button. So often, in fact, it had me wishing HTC included flanking capacitive buttons and removed the on-screen navigation to utilize all five inches of the A9’s screen.

The One A9’s slender package comes in at 7.3mm, making it on trend for the current smartphone market. It’s striking how slight the device is, but the thinness comes at a hefty price. Inside the frame is a petite 2150mAh battery that serves as one of the phone’s largest disappointments. On a light day, the A9 has no trouble lasting well into the evening, averaging around 16 hours total. But with heavier use, the phone fails to live up to expectations, offering barely three hours of screen on time and struggling to get through a work day.

All of this while running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, whose Doze feature helps improve battery life by putting the phone in a sleep state when not in use. I would gladly sacrifice the diminutive size of the A9 if it meant I didn’t have to charge in the middle of the day. There are Power Saver and Extreme Power Saver modes that help boost battery life, the latter being especially effective but coming with a tradeoff. Extreme Power Saver locks down your phone save for a few, priority driven functions. The issue is that it allows you to only use HTC’s apps for email, messaging, etc. If the company let you customize the apps that can be used in the mode, it would be infinitely more useful. The included power brick does support quick charging, but it’s not enough of a boon to overlook the poor battery performance.

An area I fully expected to be compromised by the phone’s midrange approach to specs was the screen and, while it is only a 1080P panel in a sea of Quad HD devices, HTC has proven once again it knows how to make a crisp display. Only when stacked directly against Quad HD does the A9 falter. On its own, it’s bright and vivid, making gaming, reading, video playback all a joy. Blacks are deep and true, bleeding into the phone’s black glass front. My only complaint is that reds and oranges look a touch undersaturated, odd given the AMOLED technology at work here.

Otherwise, it’s a screen you’re sure to be pleased with, despite not being top-of-the-line. It’s 5-inch size is a bit small for my taste, but for those irked by Android’s continued push to make phablets mainstream, the A9 offers a nice alternative. It’s easy to use in one hand with enough size to make gaming and other entertainment immersive.
Perhaps the most maligned aspect of HTC’s One series has been the perpetually underperforming cameras. As someone who used a One M7 as a daily driver for years, I can attest to the lack of quality. Over time, I lost faith in my M7’s UltraPixel camera, knowing I couldn’t rely on it to take a great photo unless I had time to fiddle with settings. Not being well-versed in photography and its myriad intricacies, I am not a fiddler. I want to be able, as I imagine many smartphone users do, to take out my phone, press the shutter button and feel secure that I got a decent image. HTC has delivered that security with the A9.