HTC One M9

HTC's been used to living at the top of our charts for the last couple of years, and while it's not quite managed it in 2015, it's still a phone with the best build quality out there.
None of the old favourites are missing, so BoomSound enhancement still really turbocharges the audio and the Sense overlay remains one of our favourites, thanks to being sophisticated and really powerful.
The camera has been boosted to 20.7MP, although doesn't have the impressive snapping power of some of the other phones on the market, and the design language still means this is one of our favourite phones to stick in the pocket.
It's a touch more expensive than before, and doesn't take a huge leap forward from last year's model - but then again, that was nearly perfect, so where was HTC to go?

Design

Let's get this out the way at the start – the design is, by far, the most amazing part of the HTC One M9. HTC is calling it "jewellery-grade," with each one hand-finished by craftsmen, and it certainly shows.
The one-piece fascia is complemented beautifully by the two tone metallic rim (on my review unit, the silver and gold variant). The grey and gold versions will look less impressive, given they've lost the two-tone appeal, but that doesn't mean they won't be as nice to hold.
Actually, I'm pretty sure they'll be nicer than this model. There's something about the design right now that I really don't like, the rear edge proving to be quite sharp in the hand. It's not going to draw blood, but when I used the gunmetal grey preview device in Barcelona it definitely felt closer to the One M8 in style, with more of a comfortable curve. The reason for this hasn't been confirmed by HTC, but I get the feeling it's something to do with the colouring process.
The other thing that's changed here – and not for the better – is the power button transferring to the right-hand side of the phone.

This is a more natural place for it to live, making it easier to turn the screen on and off. However, HTC has inexplicably made it the same size and shape as the volume buttons above, so feeling for it without explicitly looking means I often hit the volume key instead. The microSD slot is right above the trio of buttons too, and as it's slightly indented can cause confusion when trying to change volume in the pocket. It's hard to tell which is which, even with the phone in your hand – the extra ridges on the power button don't help enough.

While the decisions HTC has made to improve the One M9's design don't seem to have hit the mark, there's no doubt this is a finely crafted phone, and is probably the best on the market in that respect.
The two-tone finish is superb, the weight and balance is even better than before, and the precision I spoke of earlier is the overriding feeling.
The sharp edges of the BoomSound speakers are well-defined, and while it's heavy at 157g, especially compared to the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6, Apple's is the only device that can come close to beating the attractive packaging here – and I prefer the weight and balance HTC has created.
I'd definitely chuck it in a case though. After two days I'd already dented the bottom through it falling a foot onto the floor, and those nicks are really noticeable on the premium casing.

Performance

The performance of the HTC One M9 is excellent, as noted. There are too many judders in this early version of the software that I anticipate will be ironed out in a very short time, but when it's opening apps or searching the web everything is crisper than last year.

I wish I could it say it would stay that way for the next two years that you'll own this phone, but when you start filling it with apps you'll get an inevitable slowdown as they start doing things in the background.
Always keep things clean and safe, kids. A factory reset once in a while doesn't hurt.
The GeekBench 3 results show a very impressive score, and remember this isn't really the full performance of the phone as HTC has throttled it slightly so it doesn't go burning hot.

That points out something huge about today's phones: they're pointlessly powerful. The octa-core processor can be pushed to insane speeds if you don't care too much about battery, but in day to day life it won't hit anywhere close to that limit, meaning HTC can dial back the power without a worry.
With that in mind, why does it matter how powerful the phone is? It's like buying a high performance sports car that will never see the track. It's good to know you've got that headroom to put your foot down when you want it, and the acceleration is great, but push it too hard and you'll be in trouble.

Even with the lower power, the HTC One M9 is one of the most powerful smartphones we've tested, though topped by the insane skills of the iPad Air 2.
For gaming, flying through multiple apps and more it's got the power – but then when you're trying to browse high resolution pictures in the gallery and it takes a second to load the fully sharp image, that experience is ruined.
Shout out for call quality though – the ability to grab signal is very good indeed, which is even more impressive when you think how much metal is in this phone.
Metal usually equals no phone signal at all, so it's good to see that HTC has somehow managed to improve this area. I was a really big fan of using the One M9 to make something as old-fashioned as a phone call.

Camera

HTC's given up on the UltraPixel idea with the One M9, at least for its main camera. Instead it's gone for the same 20.7MP sensor found in the Sony Xperia Z3, aiming to wow with the higher number of megapixels stuffed in.
That step away from Ultrapixels is a big disappointment, as HTC was the one big Android brand striking out against the need for loads of pixels to take a good picture, instead going for the innovative combo of a 4MP sensor that could nab loads of light and a secondary sensor for clever effects.

So how good is the new camera, trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best from Samsung and Sony? A good camera today needs to have a fast start up and shutter speed, excellent detail, accurate color reproduction and good low light performance, and it's clear HTC has gone in hard for all of these.
The One M9 generally has a very good performance in most conditions, whether it's low light, bright scenes or changeable conditions. The sharpness of the pictures is clear and the color tone, although a little more muted, looks more mature than the over-coloration of the One M8.

What's clear is there's a lot of post-processing going on throughout the photography process, and it's very good for the most part. It's evident that HTC has tried to offset the loss of low-light performance by boosting the exposure after the shutter is pressed – but this results in a lot of noise.
The flash isn't brilliant either, with the high power light taking over night pictures. The amber LED in there is designed to help improve skin tone, and while it does do that, the entire snap is a little over exposed.
The big annoyances here, though, are the shutter speed (and, to an extent, the start up time, which is far behind the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S6) and the time taken to autofocus as well.
The biggest culprit was HDR mode, which forced the One M9 to pause for a while before even beginning to start processing the shot in darker conditions. Again, this isn't the sort of thing I'd have expected from a next-generation processor.
And the result, thanks to the lack of autofocus and the slow start to processing, is often muddy and lacks definition.
So while low light performance has dipped appreciably, the general performance has more than improved enough to take its place. In general daylight, I was really impressed with the performance of the One M9. OK, it's nothing different to the rest of the market, but it gives you quality and sharpness time and again.

The field of view is lowered though, thanks to the higher number of megapixels. This means you don't get as much info into the sensor, and where Apple is improving this year on year, HTC just took a step backwards to get more pixels into the mix.
The front facing camera, now using the UltraPixel sensor from the rear of the One M8, is miles better.
It captures a huge amount of detail and really removes the need for a flash – something a lot of people have been calling for on other handsets.

The beauty modes are still present, with the ability to smooth skin and increase the size of your eyes to a scary level. Face fusion, where you can work out what the demon spawn of you and your friend would look like, is also offered – and great fun down the bar.
The other area that HTC has traditionally been strong is the after effects party, with the Zoe ability to take short videos and mix them with pictures a really cool trick.
This year, Zoe has been moved to a separate app, been taken off as a camera option and been replaced in post processing with a lot of, well, useless effects.

I don't really get why HTC is making such a big deal about the ability to do things like double expose your photos – they just end up looking like you've messed up two snaps, unless they happen to perfectly complement one another.
Similarly the prism and stripe effects, allowing you to 'remix' your image – it just seems like a good way to create a Pink Floyd album cover. It doesn't make them look any better, and it's certainly not something I'd share on social media and be proud of.