HTC joins the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona and finally showcases its One X9 smartphone, which boasts a 5.5-inch display and a sleek metal design.
The HTC One X9 actually made its debut back in December 2015, but it only launched in China and no details were available at that time regarding a global release. With the new unveiling at the MWC, HTC now provides more details and reveals that the smartphone will hit global availability later this month.
HTC One X9 Design
The brushed metal design of the HTC One X9 makes it look and feel premium, and HTC boasts that it drew inspiration from "new metal design techniques."
HTC gained high praise for the full-metal design of its One M7 back in the day, and continued to work along the same lines with its subsequent devices. With the new One X9, the company wants to raise the bar again in terms of "beautifully crafted" smartphones.
The OEM points out that design should draw inspiration from surroundings, as well as cultural and personal influences, which is what the One X9 aims to do.
"The newest member of the award-winning HTC One family - the HTC One X9 - pulls through the look and feel of high end silk, creating a softer, warmer and more luxurious finish to the phone," says HTC. "Taking cues from the company's metalmorphics philosophy, which draws on the natural beauty around us, by using rich, striking colors and unique finishes, the HTC One X9 uses a new technique to give it its fine texture."
HTC tapped into "the fashion world's obsession with silver and gold" to make the One X9 "the perfect accessory." Style-conscious buyers can choose from Carbon Grey, Opal Silver, Topaz Gold and Copper Rose colors.
The HTC One X9 also sports a notably refined speaker design, reintroducing the highly acclaimed BoomSound front-facing dual speakers, but relocating them to the very top and bottom edges.
The smartphone also bears an uncanny resemblance to the One A9, but with more flaps on the side and a camera lens that's not as protruding as the one on the so-called iPhone clone.
HTC One X9 Specs
When it comes to hardware specifications, the HTC One X9 is mainly a mid-range smartphone wrapped up in a premium package.
The HTC One X9 features a 5.5-inch full HD display, which means a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It may not be up to the current QHD trend (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) gracing the latest top-end offerings, but the One X9 is not a flagship.
Under the hood, the device houses a MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core processor backed up by 3 GB of RAM, which should ensure a fluid and speedy performance. The smartphone further packs 32 GB of internal storage, expandable up to 2 TB via microSD, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The One X8 also borrows HTC's Sensor Touch technology from the One M8, ensuring the sensors do their job without draining too much battery.
In the camera department, the One X9 borrows the 13-megapixel main shooter of the One A9, rocking 4K video recording, optical image stabilization (OIS), an f/2.0 aperture and a focal length of 27.9mm. On the front, the handset sports a 5-megapixel camera with special selfie software features.
Speaking of software, the HTC One X9 runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, just like the One A9, complemented by HTC's own software features such as BlinkFeed and the aforementioned SensorHub.
HTC One X9 Pricing And Availability
HTC said that its One X9 is ready to start rolling out later this month, with the global release set to include North America and the EMEA region. The company has yet to offer specific launch dates for various markets, and it remains unclear for now just how much the handset will cost. Based on its price in China, however, we expect the One X9 mid-ranger to retail for roughly $370.
In the meantime, check out our previous coverage to see how the HTC One X9 stacks up against the One M9 and the One A9.
