You heard that right, the HTC One A9 does indeed look like the iPhone 6. When you turn it over you’ll see the typical flatness, space-grey smoothness and the antenna lines running across horizontally. But hold the sniggers: It’s HTC that first came up with this sort of design, the company’s execs remind us. And they believe it’s Apple copying them. Be that as it may, it’s Apple that made the look its own, while HTC moved on to other designs.
No matter what camp you’re in, if it’s an Apple look-alike, it’s a good looking phone. The 5-inch One A9 is smooth as silk on the back and can slip out of your hand if you’re not careful. It’s a device that feels very good in the hand, though cold to the touch because of its metal and glass build. This phone is the perfect size between outsized and those that are too small to see.
On the inside, the One A9 is all Android. More so because HTC has toned down its own interface to get out of the way of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It’ has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor with 1.5GHz and 1.2GHz quad-core modules. It comes with 32GB internal storage expandable up to 2TB with the memory card.
The battery is a 2150mAh and will definitely finish three-fourths way through the day. The cameras, 13MP and 4 “UltraPixel” are adequate — good for everyday photo sharing. The screen is a 1080x1920 AMOLED and quite crisp and nice. Sadly, the Boom Sound speakers are gone and though the sound is loud enough, it isn’t gold standard as it once was.
One of the best features of the HTC One A9 is its fingerprint sensor —it works fast and flawlessly. But it’s the design of this phone that makes it compelling.
(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 28-12-2015)
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Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
