HTC One M9 vs One M9+ comparison preview

Price When Reviewed

$549

We’re still waiting to see if HTC announces an One M9 mini but in the meantime it has introduced the One M9+. Find out how it compares with the flagship phone in our  HTC One M9 vs One M9+ comparison preview. Also see:  Best smartphones 2015,  best new phones 2015 and  best phablets 2015.

The HTC One M9+ has been announced in China so please note that it may never get officially launched in the UK. However, we’ve compared to the two anyway to explain the difference. Even if the M9+ doesn’t go on sale here in Blighty, you can get your hands on one by importing it. Read our advice on buying grey-market tech.

Note that while we’ve reviewed the One M9, we’ve not seen the M9+ in the flesh so we’re comparing specs here.

HTC One M9 vs One M9+ comparison preview: Price

As per the above, we can’t really compare the two HTC flagships by price. The One M9 is officially £579 but buying the M9+ from China and shipping it over (even with customs charges) may be cheaper. See best HTC One M9 deals

HTC One M9 vs One M9+ comparison preview: Design

As you would expect, these two 2015 phones from HTC with almost identical model names look pretty darn similar. The main difference is that physical home button on the front below the screen. (The HTC One E9+ is a plastic phablet).

The M9+ still uses a metal uni-body and comes in two-tone colours like the regular M9. On the back you’ll notice that it has a Duo Camera like the  HTC One M8 which has been dropped on the HTC One M9.

As the name suggests, the M9+ is a larger phone to the M9 so it’s understandably heavier at 168 g compared to 158 g. It is around the same thickness at 9.6 mm, though.

HTC One M9 vs One M9+ comparison preview: Hardware

With a similar design you might think the specs of the HTC One M9+ are the same as the One M9 but it has a bigger screen. Well some things are the same but there are also quite a few differences.

The screen is indeed larger but not quite as much as rumours suggested. It’s 5.2in (not 5.5in) which is only a little bigger than the 5in screen found on the M9. Despite a relatively small change in size, the resolution jumps from Full HD to Quad HD meaning pixel density goes from 441- to 534 ppi.

Storage and memory are identical with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. The two have different processors, though.

The HTC One M9 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor while the M9+ opts for a MediaTek Helio X10. They are both octa-core and 64-bit.

Much of the wireless is the same with 11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS and an IR blaster. Part of the reason for that physical home button the M9+ is to house a fingerprint scanner which is not found on the M9.

Both have the front facing BoomSound speakers but as mentioned earlier there’s a difference in the camera department. Both have a 20 Mp camera at the rear but while the M9 drops the Duo Camera setup for some reason or another it’s back on the M9+.

The battery capacity is actually the same despite different chassis sizes at 2840mAh so expect better battery life from the regular M9 thanks to its smaller and lower resolution screen. Neither has wireless charging.

HTC One M9 vs One M9+ comparison preview: Software

There’s no difference in software with HTC pre-loading both M9 models with Android 5.0 Lollipop and its Sense 7 user interface.

New features of Sense 7.0 include greater customisability with themes and Sense Home which dynamically changes which app icons are shown base on whether you’re at home, work or on the go.