HTC One A9 Takes Inspiration From iPhone In Bid To Regain Android Crown

HTC has taken the wraps off its latest smartphone, the HTC One A9, as it looks to regain its place in the premium Android device market.

However the company seems to have taken much of its inspiration from Apple, showing off a device that bears more resemblance to an iPhone than any recent Android smartphone, with a strikingly similar design and colour scheme – although HTC was keen to point out that it also influenced the iPhone in many ways.

A Plus?

HTC says it took inspiration from some of its most popular past devices when developing the One A9, which means a return for the all-metal unibody design which had been missing from several of its most recent devices.

However when it comes to power the One A9 is a bit disappointing, as under the 5in FullHD AMOLED display is a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB of RAM and a surprisingly poor 2,150 mAh battery (although it does support Quick Charge 3.0 for much faster recharging), with either 16 or 32GB of storage, which can be expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card.

As for cameras, the HTC One A9 comes with a 13MP rear camera with OIS, UltraPixel front-facing camera, and also boasts good sound capabilities thanks to its inclusion of Dolby Audio surround technology.

The One A9 will also be the first non-Google Nexus device to launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, meaning that all of the best features from the new operating system are present. This includes Android Pay, which allows you to quickly pay for purchases using your fingerprint (thanks to the One A9’s in-built fingerprint scanner), and Google Now On Tap, which quickly and concisely displays information on places around you using the company’s smartest search function to date.

This new buddying up with Google also means that HTC customers will now receive all the latest Android software updates within just 15 days of their release, as opposed to the previous 90 day window.

The HTC One A9 will be available in four colour schemes in the UK in the first week of November, with the likes of EE, O2, Vodafone, and Carphone Warehouse selling the device.

“HTC is a smartphone pioneer, having delivered the first Android smartphone, the first Windows smartphone, the first 4G smartphone, and the first all-metal smartphone,” said Cher Wang, chairwoman and CEO, HTC.

“Today we’re taking that heritage of innovation to the next level, unveiling a phone that stands apart in a market increasingly dominated by a company which controls every aspect of your phone. The HTC One A9 breaks from this trend by offering an incredible design, fantastic performance, cutting-edge software features and the freedom to take full control of your smartphone experience.”

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