Meet HTC's brand-new flagship superphone, the One M9. If you're struggling to tell the difference between it and its predecessor, the M8, that's not exactly surprising.
The M9 maintains many of the design cues from the last model, including the all-metal design and front-facing BoomSound speakers. It's a shame not to see some new design flair, but the M8 was already a stunning phone, so I'm glad that sleek design hasn't been spoiled.
The design has been tweaked slightly however and the phone now packs the latest Qualcomm octa-core processor, a new camera and Android Lollipop software.
There's no word yet on exactly how much the phone will cost, but don't expect it to come cheap. We'll find out more pricing details in the run up to its global sales launch at the end of March.
The edges of the phone are angular on the M9, rather than rounded. They've also been given a two-tone effect. Here you can see the gold edging of the silver model, but a silver body with a mirrored edge and a gold version with a polished gold edge will also be available.
HTC says it has partnered with Dolby to bring more immersive audio to the phone. How that actually affects the sound from these speakers remains to be seen.
The "Ultrapixel" camera from the M8 has been moved to the front on the M9. On the back instead is a more standard 20-megapixel camera, which HTC claims has been given tweaks to maximise its dynamic range.
It arrives with the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop software on board. HTC has also slapped its new Sense 7 interface over the top. Much of it looks the same as you'd see on the existing M8.
Sense 7 does have some neat new features, however, including the ability to heavily customise the interface. Along with these preset themes, you can selectively choose the icons, fonts and colour schemes to suit your tastes.
With the same size display (5 inches) as the M8, the M9's body hasn't needed to balloon out at all. I found it very comfortable to hold in my hands on time.
The display has the same full HD (1,920x1,080-pixel) resolution as the previous model. That's no bad thing -- it looked bright and sharp in my hands-on time.
Discuss: Up close with the metal curves of HTC's new flagship One M9 (pictures)
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