Recently, a One M9 Plus was brought to me for a test to replace the usual M9. In this column we will consider why the updated model is better and more convenient than its predecessor.
Usually Artem Lutfullin writes about devices from HTC, but, in fact, I also have a lot of experience using their smartphones, all the company's flagships have been on hand since HTC Desire HD. Of course, the company began to delight most of all with the days of HTC One M7 (there should be a comment about ultrapixels, but I'm not an amateur photographer, so the quality of the camera is not important for me).
I'll make a reservation right away that this article is not a review, but my subjective impressions over a couple of weeks of use. A full review (or ten facts) will come out later from Artyom.
Design and materials
The transition from albeit practical, but plastic to aluminum, starting with the One M7, had a positive effect on both the usability and the appearance of all subsequent models. And although some people ironically associate One M8 / M9 with iron thermoses, I think their design is more successful than not.
Screen
One of the important changes to the display is the increase in resolution from FHD to 2k. Discerning users will notice that the fonts have become a little clearer, as for the average consumer, I did not notice much difference in the quality of the picture when the resolution was increased.
It is still the same beautiful S LCD 3 display with natural color reproduction, huge headroom and excellent sun behavior. Still, screens have always been a strong point HTC.
Performance
In the M9 Plus, the company decided to replace the much abused Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 with the now popular Mediatek MT6795T Helio X10. From the point of view of performance, I did not notice much difference between them, but the device warmed up much less frequently.
Autonomous work
The battery capacity has not changed compared to the regular M9, so the battery life (despite the increase in resolution) has not changed much. This is a full working day with an average screen activity of 3-4 hours. By the way, the device supports an analogue of Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology, a full charge takes about 110 minutes.
Shell
Some say that HTC Sense has lost its former charm, in my opinion, such opinions are connected not so much with the actions themselves HTC, but with the development Android in general. Now even the stock Android 5.x / 6.x is already quite comfortable for the average user, so in HTC they just tried to slightly optimize the system without changing the general style of Material Design, in unlike some other manufacturers.
By the way, all One M9 Plus buyers are given 100 GB of space in Google Drive.
Fingerprint scanner
Personally, I am a big supporter of placing the fingerprint scanner on the face of the device. It's inconvenient for me to grope it from behind every time: I put the smartphone in my hand and either turn it on with a button, or press the scanner with the finger of my other hand, I got used to this scenario since iPhone. At the same time, in the review of the Nexus 6P, some readers disagreed with me and argued that the position on the back is more convenient. I think that everyone here will remain unconvinced, I will only add that using the scanner in the M9 Plus is much more comfortable than in the same HTC One Max.
The unlocking of the device occurs instantly, it is especially pleasing that for this you do not need to press a button (however, there are no buttons as such), you just need to touch it.
Conclusion
I have enjoyed using the device for a couple of weeks. I liked the good high-quality display, body materials and appearance, excellent stereo speakers and calm, but functional and fast shell HTC Sense.
Changing the problematic Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 to the productive MediaTek Helio X10 improved the situation with overheating, the smartphone very rarely heats up, while the X10 copes well with the increased display resolution.
The direct competitor for this model is the Samsung Galaxy S6, which wins in dimensions (it is thinner and lighter), has parity in displays (in my opinion, both devices have wonderful screens), a slightly worse speaker and a better camera. On the M9 Plus side – the presence of a memory card slot and operating speed (Sense seemed to me smoother than TouchWiz). Due to the price war, the Galaxy S6 can now be purchased for 35,000 rubles, while the One M9 Plus costs 42,000 rubles in the same MTS, so the price advantage is on the side of the first device, on the other hand, if the models had the same cost. then the choice between them would be very difficult.