#Htc one m9 review engadget 1080p
#Htc one m9 review engadget update

To hear them tell it, the metal's 'jewelry-grade' finish resists scratches and crafting each M9 involves 70 steps and takes 300 minutes to complete. No wonder HTC's brass has spent so much breath talking up that machined chassis. It's light without feeling chintzy it screams 'solid,' maybe even a little more than the M8 did.

More importantly, the M9 sits in my hand with just the right amount of weight and gravitas. Thankfully, you'll soon be able to pick up full-on silver or gunmetal models too. I've grown inordinately fond of the color combination, though others who saw it were less than impressed by the company flinging itself onto a gold-hued bandwagon. Consider the color, for one: My review unit is the same two-toned, rose-gold-and-silver affair I first played with back at MWC, and it's still just as polarizing as it was a few weeks ago. In most ways, we're still dealing with the same One DNA as before, just peppered with a handful of modifications meant to make the whole thing feel more premium.

It's an impressive feat of production, but it's not like it makes the M9 feel any sturdier than it already is.Д¬ome to think of it, it's that kind of minute change that seems emblematic of the M9's overall aesthetic. Hell, you might not even notice one of the quietest structural changes - the M9 is the first One with a front plate hewn from a single block of aluminum, with holes machined in to hold the screen and speakers in place.

#Htc one m9 review engadget 1080p

The only real changes you'll notice when that 5-inch, 1080p screen is off are incredibly subtle ones, like the top BoomSound speaker being a little shorter to accommodate the bigger UltraPixel selfie camera. The lengthy volume rocker that ran down the previous phone's side has been split into two discrete buttons, though, and the sleep/wake key has been moved below it and was given a neat spiral pattern so you can tell the difference without looking.ДЄt first glance, the phone's face is almost identical too. You'll find the nano-SIM and microSD card slots (the latter of which takes cards up to a whopping 2TB) nestled into the left and right edges, respectively, just where they were last year. Thankfully, none of that changes how comfortably the M9 settles into the hand. The M9's sloping back would look almost identical to its predecessors were it not for some major camera changes: Last year's Duo Camera UltraPixel setup has been replaced with a single, squarish, sapphire-covered pod that hosts a more traditional 20-megapixel shooter. HTC's newest flagship feels familiar as a result, but that's not to say that everything HTC did was for the best.ДЄnyway, more on that later. Where the M8 was polished and curvaceous like a river stone - a choice that meant the thing slid around more than some liked - the M9 channels more of the original One M7's angularity.

It's impossible not to compare the M9 to the Ones that came before it, which leads to some simple shorthand for HTC's design work this year: Put simply, it's almost like the M7 and M8 had a baby.

#Htc one m9 review engadget update

I'll update this review with new impressions once US units become available. Note: I'm working with the international version of the One M9.