The tech media industry has mixed feelings when HTC launched the One M9 back in MWC 2015 and have slightly better hopes when the One M9+ was eventually introduced in the company’s China launch event. HTC Malaysia has finally launched its new flagship today and it is the true flagship One M9+ that comes with a Quad HD display, fingerprint scanner and the Duo camera setup that the original One M9 misses. In addition to this, HTC has also taken the opportunity to introduce the Desire 826 as a new mid-range offering to the smartphone market.
The One M9+ features the very same beautiful two-tone frame design language from its original iteration, this is the first HTC flagship that is powered by a MediaTek helio X10 Octa-Core 2.2GHz CPU, which the company is fast to testify that its performance is very much on par with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 and hence didn’t disclose if it was due to any issues with the latter’s silicon, as recent reports of overheating issues have suggested. The One M9+ has 3GB of RAM, 32GB of flash with MicroSD expansion and powered by a 2840mAh battery.
The phone’s camera is the same 20-megapixel f/2.2 BSI camera found on the One M9 and has the duo camera setup that aims to create bokehs and 3D effects on photos after taking them, the front camera as usual packs HTC’s low light champ Ultrapixel f/2.0 camera that takes 4-megapixel pictures.
HTC’s BoomSound speakers are onboard and this time audio is enhanced by Dolby which offers much louder and more realistic sound quality in both music listening and movie watching. The phone comes preloaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop with HTC Sense 7, which now offers a general set of theming options and an improved and snappy user experience.
The Desire 826 is HTC’s latest mid-range model that resembles the Desire EYE a lot in design with slightly different hardware internals, the front facing camera has been replaced with an Ultrapixel camera from the 13-megapixel EYE camera, the screen is larger at 5.5-inches with a Full HD resolution and processing power is managed by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 1.7GHz 64-bit Octa Core CPU mated to 2GB of RAM. Apart from that, the phone still maintains a 13-megapixel main camera, BoomSound speakers by Dolby Audio and runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with HTC Sense 7 and the EYE camera experience.
The One M9+ and Desire 826 will be available at authorized HTC resellers and major telcos starting from 30 April onwards with a SRP of RM2,599 and RM1,359 respectively with GST included. Color options of the One M9+ includes Gold on Silver (two-tone color) and Gunmetal Gray while the Desire 826 has a color option of White Birch, Blue Lagoon, Marshmallow White, Dark Grey and Purple Fire. We expect to receive a unit of these two devices from HTC Malaysia soon so stay tuned!
