HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition – Compared with Smartphones within the Same Price Range
The HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition is one of the latest smartphones from HTC which was initially announced in Poland.
It is important to note that the specs of this smartphone are the same with the HTC One M9s which was just released last November 2015. Even if it is just a renamed version of the HTC One M9s, it is still one of the best smartphones within its price range.
Device Type: Smartphone
Display: 5.0 inches (1080 x 1920 pixels)
Camera: 13MP
Hardware: Mediatek Helio X10, Octa-core 2.2 GHz, 2GB RAM
Battery: 2840 mAh
Expected Price: US$ 330
Design and Display
The HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition comes with a metallic build with a brushed metal finish which is beautiful and elegant.
Compared with the best smartphones under US$400, a metallic build is not a normal feature but it can also be found in Lenovo Vibe Shot and HTC One M9.
It is 9.6 mm thick which is slightly thicker than most ultra-thin smartphones. An ultra-thin smartphone normally has a profile below 7.5 mm.
For a 5-inch display size, the weight is 158 g which is within the average weight.
The display resolution is in Full HD with a sharpness of 441 pixels per inch. It uses Super LCD 3 display technology and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla glass which is twice more durable than other glass designs.
A Full HD display resolution (1080p) with 441 ppi are features of the best smartphones near its price, but if you have some few bucks to spare, you can even get a Quad-HD (1440p) resolution smartphone like LG G4, HTC One E9+, or Motorola Nexus 6.
For a US$350 to US$360 budget, aside from a metallic build and Full HD resolution, you can also opt for a waterproof smartphone like Sony Xperia M5 and Sony Xperia Z2. That is if you like to take videos and photos underwater.
Processing Power
The HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition’s chipset is Mediatek Helio X10 with a Octa-core 2.2 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and PowerVR G6200 graphics processor. It runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop).
The CPU speed of the best smartphones under US$400 such as Sony Xperia M5 and HTC One E9+ range from Octa-core 2.0 to 2.2 GHz with the same PowerVR G6200 GPU.
With this level of processing power, you will definitely have a faster interface and an excellent gaming experience.
In terms of RAM, the usual RAM size for the best smartphones within the same price range is 3GB. So the HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition’s 2GB RAM is not the best you can get.
The RAM capacity determines the number of apps you can run simultaneously so the bigger the RAM, the more you can switch between many open applications smoothly.
It has a 16GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 200 GB using a microSD card. This expansion capacity is the same with the best smartphones of other brands. The largest microSD card size available right now is 200GB so you can have the largest additional storage space possible.
Camera
The camera resolution is 13MP but most of the smartphones cameras under US$400 has a 20MP resolution.
Camera resolution is not the only feature that you should be looking at when checking the camera of a smartphone. The optical image stabilization (OIS) feature, pixel size, sensor size, and aperture size should also be considered.
However, HTC did not disclose the pixel size and sensor size, but it mentions the OIS feature which is the feature that reduces blurs when the subject of the image is moving or if your hand is shaking while capturing the image.
The aperture size is the feature responsible for a dimensional effect (the focus is on the subject while the background is blurred). The larger the aperture size, the more focus on the subject, the better. The f/2.0 aperture size of this phone is larger than the f/2.2 aperture size of the other top smartphones.
Almost all of the top smartphones under US$400 can record 4K videos. The HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition can only record Full HD videos.
The front camera resolution of the HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition is only 4MP with the same aperture size, but you can even get a 13MP front camera resolution for your selfies within the same price range.
Battery Life and Other Features
The battery life can last up to 13 hours of talk time in a 3G network. That is below average compared to the top smartphones which can last up to 14 to 21 hours of talk time (3G).
One of the best features of the HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition is the Dolby stereo speaker which even the expensive flagship smartphones don’t have. I like this feature a lot because I like to listen to music and watch movies in my smartphone.
It is also LTE-capable with LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500). You may check the available LTE bands in your location and network to ensure an LTE connection.
Like the most smartphones, it has NFC support, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, Wi-Fi connectivity. It also has stereo FM if you like to listen to music in radio stations. You can select from three colors such as Gunmetal Gray, Gold, and Silver/Gold.
Conclusion
HTC One M9 Prime Camera Edition is a renamed HTC One M9s released in the last quarter of 2015.
Despite being a renamed smartphone, it packs some excellent upper-midrange smartphone features. It has a metallic build, a very sharp display, an excellent Dolby speaker, and the best processing power for its price.
The camera, RAM, and battery life are not the best around, but it is still better than most smartphones within the same price range.