iPhone-Like Design HTC One A9 Launched

An iPhone having a rival is questionable, but when the rival phone proves its worth then things change. The HTC One M9 introduced earlier this year was a disappointment, both to fans of high-end smartphones and, consequently, to HTC itself. Stung by criticism of that device's camera and feeling an ever-greater urgency to change its ways, the Taiwanese company introduced its second hero handset of the year in the One A9. This 5-inch smartphone will be among the first to ship with the latest Android Marshmallow software on board. It's also the most blatant and highest-profile iPhone rip-off since Samsung's original Galaxy S. Having spent the past two years cultivating a signature aluminium unibody look with its One series, HTC has now abandoned much of that heritage in favor of some unabashed iPhone cloning. Gone are the prominent BoomSound stereo speakers on the front, replaced by a capacitive home button with an integrated fingerprint reader. Gone is the subtle curve spanning the rear of the phone, replaced by a flat back that's punctuated only by a pair of antenna lines, a circular two-tone flash, and a slightly protruding camera module. The resemblance to the iPhone is visible through the images itself, it looks like the middle child between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.



The HTC One A9 will be available in two inbuilt storage and RAM versions- 16GB with 2GB RAM, and 32GB with 3GB RAM, with both supporting expandable storage via microSD card (up to 2TB). The company however has specified that the versions will vary by markets indicating that some markets may only get one storage variant. the HTC One A9 by an all-new 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor with 1.5GHz quad-core and 1.2GHz quad-core modules. Running Android Marshmallow with HTC Sense skin on top, the HTC One A9 is the company's first Marshmallow-based handset. Featuring a 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display, the One A9 also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection. There is a 13-megapixel rear camera with sapphire cover lens. It comes with f2.0 aperture, autofocus, BSI sensor, Optical Image Stabilization, support for 1080p video recording, and a LED flash module. The smartphone will sport a 4-megapixel UltraPixel front-facing fixed-focus camera. The HTC One A9 has a 2150 mAh battery which can last for up to 16 hours of talk time, 12 hours of HD video playback, or 60 hours of audio playback. That's slightly better than the iPhone 6S, which has stats of 14 hours talk time, 11 hours of HD video, or 50 hours of audio.. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Micro-USB. The company listing confirms that the HTC One A9 supports Indian LTE bands. Other notable features include fingerprint sensor, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, gyro, and magnetic sensor.



While not quite a flagship phone the HTC One A9 is all set to be one of the best Android alternatives to the iPhone 6S. The design is surprisingly similar and the two phones have fingerprint scanners and similar spec cameras. The HTC One A9 even comes out on top in some ways, with a larger, sharper screen and potentially longer battery life. There's no word yet on India price and availability. The price of this phone in the US is $399.99 which converts to a reasonable amount in rupees, but there should be some variation from that and most probably will cost a little higher than the price in the US market.