| Pros | Cons |
| + Stylish | - Could be expensive |
| + Good camera | - Similar to HTC One A9 |
| + Lots of power | - Only a 1080p screen |
"The HTC One X9 is almost a phablet and almost a flagship. It's not quite either, but it looks like a good phone".
Sadly, we didn’t get the HTC One M10 at MWC 2016, but HTC didn’t arrive empty handed either, instead it brought the HTC One X9.
This isn’t a completely new phone, as it launched in Asia late last year, but so far it hasn’t hit these shores. That’s all about to change though.
With a 5.5-inch screen, an octa-core processor and a metal unibody it’s certainly got a decent array of specs, but was it worth the wait?
The HTC One X9 has a 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 screen with a pixel density of 401 pixels per inch. At 5.5 inches it could really do with being QHD and the fact that it’s not is one of a few things which marks it out as not quite a flagship.
But the screen still impresses. It’s sharp and sports natural colours. It’s verging on phablet size so it’s one you’ll want to use two hands with, but that size does make it good for videos and games.
The HTC One X9 looks quite a lot like the HTC One A9, as both have a metal unibody. But the X9 loses the antenna strip at the top, which leaves it looking slightly less like the iPhone 6S.
That can only be a good thing. What’s less good is that it’s thicker at 8mm thick, but that’s still fairly thin and a lot slimmer than the HTC One M9. It’s a good looking phone, but slightly plain compared to some HTC handsets.
There’s an octa-core Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10 processor powering the HTC One X9, which along with its 3GB of RAM would have made for just about a flagship last year.
This year it’s all about having 4GB of RAM and the Mediatek chip while fast plays second fiddle to Qualcomm’s processors. So it’s a good spec but not quite a flagship one. Still, you can expect seriously nippy performance from the HTC One X9.
The HTC One X9 has much the same main camera as the HTC One A9, which is to say a 13MP one with optical image stabilisation and a dual-LED flash. It uses the same sensor and while this isn’t quite a match for the snappers on the Samsung Galaxy S6 or LG G4 it is one of the better ones HTC has used and an upgrade on the HTC One M10’s camera.
The camera also sports a number of modes and options, including a one button enhancement feature, Pro mode and advanced manual controls.
Round the front you get a 5MP camera, which seems to have become the standard spec for selfie shooters. You can activate it with your voice, so you can take shots of yourself from a distance.
The HTC One X9 takes audio seriously, with BoomSound speakers and integrated amplifiers pumping out high quality tunes. This is something a number of other HTC phones offer, but few rivals come close.
The HTC One X9 also runs Android Marshmallow, so you get an up to date OS and it’s overlaid with HTC Sense, which is one of the better manufacturer interfaces and comes complete with the likes of BlinkFeed, allowing you to get all your news and social media updates in one place.
There’s a fairly large 3000 mAh battery in the HTC One X9, so it should have reasonable life, though exactly how long it will last for remains to be seen. It supports fast charging though, so you’ll never be out of juice for long.
There’s 32GB of built in storage plus a microSD card slot with support for cards of up to 200GB, so space shouldn’t be an issue.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC.
The HTC One X9 is rather similar to the HTC One A9 and as such it may struggle to stand out, but the larger screen and increased power should certainly help.
Taken on its own merits it’s a stylish, powerful phone with a good camera, a big battery and a reasonable screen. How desirable it is will largely come down to how much it costs and that’s unknown so far, but if we had to guess we’d say somewhere in the £350-£450 region. Less than a flagship then, but still a lot.
If you want the best that HTC has to offer you’re probably better off waiting for the HTC One M10, but the HTC One X9 looks like an impressive stopgap.
Dimensions (mm): 153.9 x 75.9 x 8mm
Weight (g): 170g
Battery capacity (mAh): 3000
Colours: Carbon Grey, Opal Silver, Topaz Gold, Copper Rose
Screen size (inches): 5.5
Resolution: 1080x1920 pixels
Pixels per inch (PPI): 401
Processor: Octa-core
Processor make: Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10
RAM: 3GB
Internal storage: 32GB
Expandable storage up to (GB): 200GB
Camera: 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel
Operating System: Android 6.0
