Just in time for the New Year and belated holiday gift giving, new smartphone models are being released in a frenzy. Two of the newest releases are the HTC One X9 and Samsung Galaxy A9. Both of these new models originally caught my eye because they look very similar to the iPhone 6. While we all can admit that the iPhone is a sleek design, I’ve always cringed whenever non-Apple brands design their smartphones to look exactly like an iPhone.
Nonetheless, I took it upon myself to dive deeper into the specs of these two phones. Here are my findings:
Screen Size
Both the HTC and Samsung models offer larger than normal screen sizes. The X9 comes in at 5.5” and the A9 at a whopping 6”. Despite its large size, the A9 is still just as sleek and thin looking as the X9. In fact, on initial glance, the A9 doesn’t look as clunky as the X9, despite its larger size.
Technology
The X9 features an octa-core MediaTex X10 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage, which is expandable with microSD cards. The camera is an impressive 13-megapixel, and it of course has an UltraPixel selfie cam on the front. New to this model is Dolby BoomSound front-facing stereo speakers, which you won’t find on most smartphones.
The A9 is almost identical, with an octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB with microSD cards. The A9 also has a 13-megapixel camera. What pushes the A9 ahead of the X9 is its huge battery. Coming in at 4,000mAh, this smartphone’s battery life should last all day, unlike so many other smartphones. Compare this to the X9’s 3,000mAh battery.
Design
As explained earlier, the A9 looks much sleeker than the X9, but also much more like an iPhone. It’s even advertised in the silver, gold, and rose gold colors of the newest iPhone models. If I wanted a smartphone that looked like an iPhone, I’d buy an iPhone.
The HTC One X9 and Samsung Galaxy A9 have both only been released in China thus far, but are expected to be released in the U.S. in January 2016. The X9 is priced at around $370, and the price for Galaxy A9 has yet to be released. Will I be rushing out to purchase either of these phones? Most likely not. However, some of the specs do have me excited to see what 2016 holds for smartphones and their ever-increasing list of features.
Photo by: Kārlis Dambrāns
