Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – an old favorite, the HTC One M9 goes up against the new Huawei Nexus 6P. The battle of the all-metal smartphones with dual front-facing stereo speakers. Does the Nexus 6P have enough firepower to out gun the established One M9? Both devices are well-built, solid and beautiful…but what about specifications and what is under the hood. Let’s take a look at what these devices have in common before we take a closer look at each individual device.
The HTC One M9 and Huawei Nexus 6P really do have very little in common. Sizes are way off and the displays are not only different sizes, but also different technologies with different resolutions. Camera areas are certainly not the same. They both use the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, although the Nexus 6P uses version 2.1, which was supposed to help with the overheating issues. They both have 3GB of RAM and both offer a 32GB internal storage model, but differ in that only the One M9 offers expansion of that memory. They both have the usual suspects – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.1 on the One M9 and 4.2 on the Nexus 6P), GPS, NFC and a USB port…although even those are different with the One M9 using the v2.0 and the Nexus 6P offering the newer Type-C reversible plug with faster charging and data transfer. Both devices have a non-removable battery with fast charge capabilities.
Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Specifications
HTC One M9
The HTC One series started the metal smartphone craze and has been an all-metal design since their original One M7. It was initially praised by the critics and created a loyal customer following, however, two generations later, many of those same critics and customers are tiring of the relatively same design. HTC did make a small alteration on the One M9 by including a subtle redesign around the sides of the body which added a small lip to provide better gripping. The nicely curved back is still there, making it a pleasure to hold.
The HTC One M9 sports a 5-inch FHD Super LCD3 display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 441 pixels-per-inch (PPI) – the Nexus 6P has a 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED display with 518 PPI. HTC selected the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz to power their flagship. The Nexus 6P selected the same Snapdragon 810 model, only used v2.1, which should help any overheating issues. The One M9 packs 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage and has a microSD card slot allowing additional storage up to 128GB. The Nexus 6P offers 3GB of RAM with a choice of 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage with no room to expand.
HTC has changed the cameras on their One model since it came out and they just do not seem to know how they want to handle this particular area. The One M9 made another big change, and while they succeeded in making it better, it still does not include OIS. HTC took its old 4MP UltraPixel camera and moved it around to the front, which should provide great selfies and video chatting while allowing you to take good low-light pictures. HTC replaced the main camera with a 20MP sensor with autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash. This compares to a terrific 12.3MP main camera on the Nexus 6P, along with a large 8MP FFC. The One M9 uses a non-removable 2840mAh battery, which is much smaller than the 3450mAh non-removable battery in the Nexus 6P. Both devices support a rapid charge thanks to their Qualcomm processor and the Type-C connector on the Nexus 6P.
The HTC One M9 retains the dual front-facing stereo speakers with BoomSound, although the dual front-facing stereo speakers on the Nexus 6P compete quite nicely. The One M9 does have a built-in IR Blaster and stereo FM radio. It comes in Gunmetal Gray, Amber Gold, Silver/Rose Gold and Gold/Pink. It is running Android 5.1 Lollipop and pricing is around $600.
Huawei Nexus 6P
The Huawei Nexus 6P is a high-end smartphone and the more expensive of the two Nexus devices being offered this year. The Nexus 6P is a beautifully designed and well-built device with an all-metal unibody construction and available in three colors – Aluminum, Graphite or Frost. It matches up very nicely to the all-metal HTC One M9 that we are comparing and is one of the few all-metal devices on the market.
Samsung makes the Nexus 6P’s 5.7-inch display, so naturally it is AMOLED technology. It is QHD with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 518 PPI. This compares to the 5-inch FHD IPS LCD display on the One M9. Huawei decided to go with the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, version 2.1. It has four cores clocked at 1.55 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. The One M9 uses the original Snapdragon 810 and both devices have 3GB of RAM. The Nexus 6P comes with 32GB of internal memory with an option of 64GB or 128GB and offers no room for external expansion. The One M9 comes with only one option of 32GB of internal memory, but has a microSD card slot for expansion up to 128GB.
DxOMark recently rated the camera on the Nexus 6P with a high score of 84, not far from the Samsung Galaxy S6. It has a 12.3MP sensor, laser autofocus and dual-tone LED flash…but no OIS. This goes up another good camera on the One M9 with a 20MP sensor, autofocus and dual-tone LED flash. The Nexus 6P has a large 8MP FFC for selfies and video chatting, while the One M9 has a 4MP UltraPixel FFC. The Nexus 6P has a large, 3450mAh non-removable battery that includes a rapid charge feature via its Type-C reversible plug. The One M9 has a small 2840mAh non-removable battery with Quick Charge feature.
The Nexus 6P has a few features not found on the One M9 – let’s start with the Samsung-built AMOLED QHD display. It uses the Type-C reversible microUSB port for faster charging and data transfer. It also has a built-in fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone and making Android Pay (mobile payments). Last, but certainly not least, it is running pure Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will always get the fastest upgrades possible when new versions come out. It is priced right at only $500 for the 32GB model and offers a great value.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
This was one of the more easy decisions as far as I am concerned – the Huawei Nexus 6P is by far the winner of this comparison. It has a much better display, an improved version of the Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, a better camera area, comparable speakers, a better microUSB Type-C connector, with superior rapid charge and a much larger battery. It also has a fingerprint sensor for unlocking the device and the ability to authorize Android Pay payments and it is running pure Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will receive the fastest updates possible.
The HTC One M9 does have a smaller size that some may favor, it does have room for expansion of the internal memory, a built-in FM radio and an IR Blaster. However, those few things hardly make up for the features it is missing when compared to the Nexus 6P…especially when it will cost you more money than the Nexus 6P.