Inner Beauty: HTC One M9+

Wire

Inner Beauty: HTC One M9+

The availability of HTC’s One M9+ came as a surprise to us since we were expecting M9 here instead, just like Singapore. Never really thought that HTC would spring such a surprise, and the reason is apparently due to our infrastructure. From the way I see it though, HTC did not shortchange us with its M9+.

SOLID GOOD LOOKS
Some of my friends commented that the M9+ looks very much like its predecessors, the M7 and M8, and that I do agree. The difference is that the M9+ includes sapphire glass on its rear camera, a scratch resistant coating (that works pretty good since I always tend to put it in my pocket or bag with other “lady-junks”) and a change of location of its power button. Just like its predecessor, the M9+ fits nicely in my hand as it sports a curved back, and its finishing doesn’t make it slide out of my hand to crash onto the floor. Most of all, I enjoy not having my fingerprints plastered all over its surface.

GLORIOUS 2K
With its premium price, we should expect the best. And HTC did not pull back the stops by offering a 5.2” 2K display. Does it make a difference? Oh yes. Videos are sharper and immersive, but you do have to place the phone a distance further than the tip of your nose to appreciate it. I watched the Jurassic World trailer in 2K on it, and wow. The clarity is just wow.

ALL THE RIGHT PLACES
Another favourite feature of the M9+ is the front facing speakers. It just feels logical for them to be there. How’s the sound quality? Well, there are two modes offered by HTC BoomSound with Dolby Audio – music mode and theatre mode. First I tested the music mode with a few songs like Caribbean Blue from Enya, Brass Monkey by Beastie Boys, and Hotel California from Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over album. Conclusion: generally crisp and clear, especially tones from guitar high tones, but when it comes to deep bass or complicated classical music, the complexity can’t be brought out completely although exceptable. As for the theatre mode, voices become clearer, making it possible to actually hear conversations instead of being drowned out by explosions and sound effects.

ALMOST THERE
If you were not satisfied with the M8 camera, good news: HTC has improved that, though not as perfect as I would’ve liked. Let’s start with the good parts. The rear camera offers two settings you can toggle easily with just one touch: High-res mode and duo mode. The duo mode takes better portraits with its dual sensor, giving you a bokeh effect, however, it does this at the expense of resolution. I still prefer high res mode honestly. Now for the bad. At first, I had some trouble trying to focus on a subject properly. Somehow it either takes too long, or just takes blur photos especially in low-light areas. Thankfully, there was a software update for Android not long ago and this fixed the focusing problem. However, the camera still has room for improvement, and I’m still hoping for more refinements along the way since you can actually just update parts of the phone software via Google Play. No need to download whole chunks of software update.

EDITING ON THE FLY
Since the whole world is now into selfies and wefies, good news here. Instead of downloading a separate app to make your skin smooth as porcelain and eyes big as saucers, you can edit your photos immediately after you take them with a built-in editing tool on your phone. You can either opt for subtle edits to take away your designer eye bags, or go full throttle and have that super airbrushed look. Not fond of selfies? Then take photos in HDR mode, macro or use in-built fun camera modes such as split capture and photo booth.

TOUCHY FEELY
The whole fingerprint sensor thing is pretty much a must-have trend in smartphones these days and HTC too has jumped into the bandwagon. The M9+ offers fingerprint scanning to unlock the phone and instead of using a tactile home button, the scanner is a little indentation between the bottom speakers. Coolest thing? Being able to unlock when screen is asleep, which is extremely convenient. Fingers too wet to unlock with fingerprint? No worries. Just use the usual pattern lock.

8-BIT NOSTALGIA
I’ve also tested the new Dot View and found it fun. Instead of boring casings, the Dot View case reminds me of 8-bit styled graphics. You can get notifications and interact with them while your cover is still closed since the Dot View allows touch interaction. In fact, you can even play games on it!

STEADY BUT SURELY
Looks-wise, the M9+ doesn’t seem different; yet there are a lot of little upgrades in almost all its features, whether it is the camera, speed, display or sound. I am a little miffed that I can’t benchmark the phone though – not sure if it’s because this is a test unit. Personally, I like the M9+ though I admit it doesn’t stand out as a premium phone like some of its competitors. However, I am quite satisfied when it comes to user experience (and its alphabetical app drawer!), so I would actually recommend buying this if inner beauty is more important than external.

PRICE RM2,599

SPECS
Dimensions 150.99 x 71.99 x 9.61 mm
Weight 168g
Processor MediaTek helio X10, Octa-Core (8 x 2.2GHz)
Memory 32 GB ROM, 3GB RAM
Display 5.2-inch WQHD
Storage microSDXC up to 2TB
Camera 20MP f2.2 Duo Camera with 1.09-inch lens, 4K video recording (main); HTC UltraPixel f2.0 camera with 1.05-inch lens, 1080p HD video recording (front)
Operating System Android 5 with HTC Sense
Battery 2840mAh