HTC One X9

Released in December 2015 in China, HTC One X9 is one of HTC’s mid-range phones. For the price it touts, the phone has really impressive hardware!

However.

Customers might just find it too expensive. Not to mention, there are some turn-offs which spoil what could have been a great phone experience.

On the design front, HTC hardly ever disappoints. It continues this streak with One X9 which has a smooth finishing. The metal has a textured feel to it and allows for a solid grip. It also feels more scratch-resistant than its predecessor One A9. There is no fingerprint scanner, though.

For those who prize attention to detail, the misalignment of the nano-SIM slot with the power and volume buttons on the right-hand side of the phone will be a turn-off. As will be the seemingly haphazard placement of the HTC logo, camera, and sensor array on the front.

This is definitely not a design that looks minimal or feels sleek. Also, with a 5.5-inch screen and a total weight of 170 g, the phone feels rather dense, which is a disappointment.

The display of the phone is bright and the icons are sharp. For the price bracket this phone falls into, its resolution is expected and there’s nothing extravagant about it. The contrast and black levels are both average for an LCD, while viewing angles are below average.

HTC has used more apps from Google’s pocket and there is a definite Android feel to the phone despite the presence of HTC Sense. There were slight delays in launching the apps and , regrettably, some of them often crashed.

By default, the display has a cold color temperature like most smartphones these days. This can be corrected through a slider in the One X9’s software where you can choose to see warmer shades. On its own, the display can’t reach full green or blue saturation levels. Blue, green, and yellow mid-tones are oversaturated, and this leads to a loss of detail and color balance.

The phone has Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10 processor paired with a PowerVR G6200 GPU. You can multitask but there might be occasions when it slows down or lags. The performance can get a bit stuttery. Overall, the phone also has problems with keeping up frame rates in games unless its lowered down to the Low presets.

When going through the specifications, the rear camera would appear to be the same as always. However, there are a few new features. There is the auto selfie, voice selfie, and live make up shot options, and a new RAW format, along with a one-button enhancement feature.

In bright light, it takes some impressive shots. However, performance falls in low light conditions, and this is unbecoming of a phone in this price-range. When the sun is out, the camera gets the colors just right. This is a given in any smartphone these days. In cloudy conditions, the images seem a bit underexposed, and the automatic mode is a savior here as it gets the exposure correct.

The sub-par quality of images in low lightning wouldn’t have been a complaint if the camera didn’t have OIS – but it does. And with an additional technology like it, you expect good performance from the camera no matter what. In spite of it, pictures sometimes appear grainy or blurry. This proves to be a real downer which leads one to think that the OIS is included only for mention’s sake.

The front camera also falls short of expectations and struggles the same way as the rear one when faced with low light conditions. There is also little attention to detail.

For a phone of its size, the One X9 has the correct battery. However, it fails to power the phone as much as you’d expect.

The low stamina of One X9’s battery might be forgivable if it weren’t for its slow charging pace. Phones in the same price bracket have better-charging capabilities.

Overall, this phone has a mediocre battery life that is not for people who like to see a full tank whenever they whip their phones out.

Even though the phone might delight you in the beginning, you won’t be able to remain satisfied with it for long. For the price tag that it carries, it fails to live up to expectations. You would find much better deals in terms of performance and battery life in other phones. The only saving grace is the speakers. In all other ways the phone lets you down. You should invest your money elsewhere.