HTC announced last night the HTC One A9, its iPhone clone. It resembles the iPhone 6S so much it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple launch a lawsuit which ends up wiping HTC out of business.

Now in the US you can pre-order the One A9 for $399 or buy it from an HTC approved partner for £459.(http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/contract-mobile-phones/htc-one-a9) Hmmm now that seems like HTC are ripping off UK buyers. Mobilephones Direct say the spec is 3gb/32gb storage and this may be a typo as HTC stated the UK was getting the 2gb/16gb storage version. EE is also confirmed as stocking the One A9 with the 2gb/16gb storage configuration.

Specs

– Networks – GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100, LTE
– PHYSICAL 145.7mm x 70.8mm x 7.26mm mm, 143g
– OS Android, Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow)
– DISPLAY 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels (~441 ppi pixel density)
– PROCESSOR Qualcomm MSM8952 Snapdragon 617
– INTERNAL MEMORY 32 GB, 3 GB RAM
– EXTERNAL MEMORY microSD, up to 128 GB
– DATA SPEED HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps
– CAMERA 13 mega pixel (optical image stabilization, autofocus, LED flash )
– FRONT CAMERA 4 mega pixel (Front flash), Ultra pixel
– BATTERY Non-removable Li-Ion 2150 mAh battery
– SENSORS – Fingerprint sensor, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Motion G sensor, Compass sensor, Gyro sensor, Magnetic sensor, Sensor Hub
– Connectivity Bluetooth 4.1, Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4+5GHz), 3.5mm stereo audio jack, microUSB 2.0 port
– Audio – Dolby Audio and Hi-Res Audio
Now the battery is just 2,150mAh, support for Quick Charge 2 and v3.
– EXTRAS – Fingerprint-based security, RAW image capture, Hyperlapse video creation

Based on my initial tests, android v6.0 has excellent battery life, but I am concerned the One A9 only has a 2,150mAh battery.

However, note the following –

– The headphone output is very loud and is further improved by outputting at 1 Volt
– The rear camera sensor is covered by sapphire glass
– In Pro mode raw capture is possible AND the One A9 allows you to edit the RAW photos
– 1080p at 30fps is max video setting, so no 4K. Longest shutter is 2 seconds.
– The Unibody design is well built
– At £459 it is only £20 more expensive than the new Nexus 6P

So what do you think? Is this good enough to save HTC? Is it too much like an iPhone? OR is the fact it was inspired by the iPhone a good thing?