It looks every bit like an iPhone. But HTC's new One A9 smartphone promises a boatload of features and perks to separate it from its competition.
In announcing the One A9 during HTC's Be Brilliant livestream event Tuesday, HTC gave its best sell on why customers might want to opt for this smartphone over any others in its class — including the iPhone 6S.
With the A9 touted as the first non-Nexus phone to launch with Android 6.0, HTC announced six months of free Google Play Music and a full-year of its "Uh Oh" protection plan, offering free phone replacement with no questions asked — the latter as a clear shot to Apple.
But more than anything, HTC seemed to focus in on the smartphone's high-powered, 13-megapixel camera, which is loaded with everything from phase detection auto focus, which allows users to zero in without a focus hunter, while promising longer exposures in low light, spelling shots without any blur attached to them.
The A9 also boasts one-touch auto processing, extracting the most out of photos, as well as a built-in hyperlapse capture mode feature for video editing. During the presentation, HTC also talked up the smartphone's sound, which they vowed can support even the most high-powered set of headphones. Also, the A9 includes a neat fingerprint sensor for Android Pay support.
Available for preorder on HTC's website now, the smartphone is expected to be available the first week of November for $400.
If you love the look of the iPhone 6S, but want to stick with Android...this might be the smartphone for you.
