It just seems that despite the best endeavours of handset manufacturers to keep things under wraps until a launch is announced, it never really works. We’ve seen careless leaks in the past where people have left new phones in bars, and with the HTC One M9 especially, we saw some sample photos come from HTC’s lab in Taiwan, and like the Samsung Galaxy S6, the phone itself has been pictured quite a few times now before the official launch.
In a massive case of “whoops”, a journalist attending MWC 2015 in Barcelona from The Straits Times (a Singaporean publication) published a YouTube video comparison of the HTC One M9 (shown left, above) next to the One M8 and One M7. While he quickly made the video private, he wasn’t quite quick enough, with Redditors jumping on the plunder and re-publishing the video for the world to see.
There’s not an awful lot that we can discern from the video that we don’t already know, except that it looks an awful lot like what’s gone before it, albeit with a smaller bezel. Watch the video and find out for yourself, and above all else, be a little bit patient; in just 24 hours, we’ll have the launch event, and our own Daniel Tyson is there covering it first hand.
So many people below arguing about a black bezel. It is a phone! You want something bigger get yourself a tablet or a phablet. It might just be personal choice, to me it all works well, it is a phone that can access everything and play music amazingly. Bigger cpu, memory and plays games well (and streaming for that matter). To have all that in a phone that looks so beautiful with its metal body is amazing. So many people break their ‘glass front and back’ phones it’s ridiculous.
not tempted to upgrade so they’ve saved me some money, thanks HTC!
Not to mention the several weeks waiting period in between each repair where I have had to wait several weeks without a phone – is that acceptable for an $800+ phone? Hmm.
Maybe that had more to do with your carrier. I took my M7 in with purplegate, and had rung HTC ahead of that. I got a brand new phone, with new sensors within a week. Optus is where I took it and my phone came from a brand new batch from HTC (a week old or just over).
GPS not working on my Nexus 5. Google sent me a replacement and a link to fill out for a courier to come pick up the busted one. Gave me a week to return it after the replacement arrived so lots of time to get things moved over.
They did put a hold on my credit card for the amount of the phone until it was returned which I think is pretty fair.
After having to have 3 One M8s replaced in 12 months (all under warranty) I will never buy a HTC again! I’m currently on my third HTC One M8 all replaced due to hardware faults, and even this replacement is causing problems (certain spots of screen not working, randomly calls people from my contacts, over heats, the list goes on) – just a heads up to anyone thinking of switching.
Moving the power button to the side is a smart move. Hopefully they’ve made the notification light more noticeable. However, it doesn’t seem like a significant upgrade to the M8, apart from it having Sense 7, which will be coming to the M8 in May anyway.
Wow I thought it did. You don’t know the specs yet right? Huge cpu, lots of ram, room for a memory card, 20megapixel phone on back, 4 on front. Beautiful case, slightly larger size. Seems a big step up from M8 internally to me. I like it.
I know it’s personal taste but they need to figure out a smarter way to arrange their hardware under the display. That black strip with HTC on it is an eyesore and a waste of space to me.
couldn’t agree more- this is what stops me buying this phone. Great design except for this. It makes that bezel massive
It’s not a waste of space, it houses components to the phone that otherwise couldn’t go anywhere. You cant have two loud stereo speakers and the display controllers without housing them somewhere. I’m happy to live with the black bar if that means the excellent stereo speakers they’ve been doing for a couple of years now. The problem with the One M7 and M8 was the camera. If they fix that with the M9, then I’ll buy one. I feel this black bar complaint is the most nit-picky of nit-picky complaints. We’re not complaining about its screen, performance, batter life,… Read more »
I have a Sony Z3 Compact with stereo speakers top and bottom and a higher screen to bezel ratio than the M8. And Sony had less room to work with because the phone is smaller. Sony figured it out, why can’t HTC? Perhaps it’s because HTC want a black background to paste their logo onto. The HTC speakers are a little louder and clearer, granted, but they have a bigger phone with more surface area to work with. I don’t except that they can’t achieve it. And if you’re happy, good for you. And many others like you who rush… Read more »
First off, Sony’s speakers aren’t as good as HTC’s. HTC’s are physically larger which is why the require more space. If Sony had HTC’s speakers, then the device would be bigger too. And Sony’s top bezel is larger than HTC’s. HTC went for a larger bottom bezel (speaker and black bar), whereas Sony opted for more even bezels top and bottom with smaller, weaker speakers. The Xperia is a great device, but to compare the two as if they’re housing the exact same hardware is false. Put HTC’s speakers in the Sony phone, you’re going to get a bigger Sony… Read more »
I didn’t say they were the same exact hardware. At least be fair and quote what I actually wrote accurately. The overall design of the One M8/9 is mostly aesthetically pleasing.
Many people agree with that. What is ugly is that black bar. And the slippery back is a usability issue that also comes down to design. Both need fixing if HTC wants to appeal to a wider audience.
I didn’t quote you at all, I inferred from your Sony comment that you’re implying if ‘Sony can do it, HTC should be able to do it’ which is false because HTC have the better sound hardware and it’s not close. That’s not a quote so claiming I quoted you is false.
Even with the black bar, as you say, it’s the most aesthetically pleasing. If that changes, then HTC should change the design to become the best looking device again.
“It’s not a waste of space, it houses components to the phone that otherwise couldn’t go anywhere.”
Then how does LG do it with the G3? No one’s claiming that there’s just empty space underneath the logo, but HTC can certainly do something to minimise the bezels on this thing. 5.5″+ is not small and the generous borders around the screen make the M8 feel larger than it needs to be.
If they kept the speakers but extended the screen to where the black area is (or just under), it would be far more attractive to me.
It is stellar and beautiful design. 20 megapixel camera, that’s awesome. Stereo speakers, big cpu, more ram …. looking great to me. These nit pickers could be Sheeple people. (apple sheep)
Wish there was an Ultra video. Looks ok to me but will it be enough of an upgrade from the M8?