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The physical button at the bottom acts as both a home button and a fingerprint scanner.

HTC's new hope for its smartphone range looks virtually identical to its biggest rival

(In case you haven’t guessed, we’re talking about the iPhone 6 and 6s).

HTC IS HOPING to turn around its smartphone fortunes around with a new mid-range device that looks very similar to one of its biggest rivals.

Called the One A9, the 5-inch device is separate to the company’s One M range released at the beginning of this year.

The 5-inch device has 2GB of RAM, 1.5 GHz and 1.2 GHz quad-core chips, and a 2150 mAH battery. It starts with 16GB of storage (but you can use a micro SD card to expand that) and can deliver audio at 24-bit.

It’s one of the first phones to run on Marshmallow, the latest version of Android, and it comes with features like a fingerprint scanner, Now on Tap (allowing you to search key terms on screen) and expandable storage (using micro SD cards to expand internal storage).

But the most tantalising prospect of the device is the camera, something the company is placing an emphasis on. It comes with a 13MP with f/2.0 lens for low-light situations. It will also come with auto-raw processing, image stabilisation and the ability to create a hyperlapse out of any standard videos you record.

While it does look virtually similar to the iPhone (its CEO has talked about creating a real alternative to the iPhone), you could argue that Apple has taken numerous design features from HTC and incorporated it into its own phones so this is revenge.

IMG_20151014_115749 On the outside, it looks virtually identical to the iPhone 6, but not on the inside.

While we had a brief moment to try out the phone, early impressions are positive. The design is practically identical to the iPhone 6 and 6s but the software is solid and creating timelapse videos with the camera is easy to do.

The price for an unlocked version of the One A9 is expected to cost €549 but if you’re getting a bill-pay version, you can get it for free with certain providers. It will arrive in Ireland and globally on 2 November.

Read: The company behind Tinder says its dating services are ‘frequently under attack’ >

Read: Apple bans hundreds of iPhone apps that secretly spied on users >

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34 Comments
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    Mute Padraig Fitzpatrick
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:31 PM

    you don’t get it free with any provider, you pay for it in small amounts over a long period of time

    328
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    Mute bazhealy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:37 PM

    And currently the plans available are a joke! Pay as you go is the only option if you want a load of data at a decent price. €20 top up every 30 days on Vodafone, gets me 5gb data free calls and texts to Vodafone and leaves me with €10 in credit. If you have a smart phone you have it for the data not the calls so what does 500 free mins or even included texts really mean to anyone?! You sign up for a bill all you are really doing is paying for your phone in installments. They have also reduced the included data to such a level that you are forced to buy add-on allowances just to keep functioning. That and stupid contract lengths. I’m gona stick to pay as you go and buy my own phones from now on. No contracts, freedom to choose, no bloat ware from phone networks. I can get a really good phone with the money I’d be saving on having a bill annually and still have it next yr into the next billing cycle saving me money.

    39
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    Mute Armonline
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:06 PM

    25 euro a month bill pay on Tesco mobile gives you unlimited calls & texts, 15GB of data and you can cancel after a month

    32
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    Mute Rob Ben Jones
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:04 PM

    Meteor. Sim plan. 24 euro. Unlimited calls and texts. 5gb of data.

    4
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    Mute bazhealy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:41 PM

    Those seem like grand deals but what’s the point in having 15gb of data on a network that you can never connect to? Service is everything. Vodafone aren’t anything to write home about granted but they’re the best of a bad lot when it comes to coverage. The others can afford to give you 15gb because no one will ever reach 15gb on a good network let alone on a bad one where you can’t connect to data a lot of the time. I have been on almost every network and know people who have been on all of them and they all complain about the state of the others. Vodafone, in my experience, offer the best network.

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    Mute Zandranalily
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    Oct 21st 2015, 3:55 AM

    I’ve been with Three for a few years. €25 for unlimited three to three calls, limited to other numbers but unlimited internet. Problems are few and far between.

    8
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    Mute Supernova
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:31 PM

    How long before the hipsters start using the big brick del boy telephones ?

    128
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    Mute Ron Koeman
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:29 PM

    I didn’t know that Apple have copywriter the colour white and the rectangular shape. It also looks like the HTC One M8 and M9.

    117
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    Mute Paul Murphy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 6:54 PM

    Looks like a return to form from HTC. This looks like a killer phone. Reports on the camera a great so far, as well as the battery… This is allot of phone for a mid range price

    35
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    Mute Bilbo Baggins
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:11 PM

    why oh why go back to the physical button on the bottom complete waste of space imo

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    Mute Paul Murphy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:44 PM

    It doubles as the finger print scanner… I’m told its super fast too

    12
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    Mute Oisín Tarrant
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:49 PM

    That is the finger print scanner. It doubles as a home screen option also. Its not a button.
    First impression I had of it on the OnePlusTwo was that it was a waste of space but Ive found I use it all the time now to unlock.

    8
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    Mute John Donnelly
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:33 PM

    Looks more like a Samsung Galaxy S6 to me :/

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    Mute Dave Thomas
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:50 PM

    Just what I thought while reading on my galaxy s6.

    56
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    Mute IrishGravyTrain
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:56 PM

    Bit steep for a mid range phone.

    67
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    Mute Adrian O'Leary
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:27 PM

    iPhone only for me!

    Why would you pay that much for a phone?

    Samsung’s Android features have been around for years. Nothing new here.

    OnePlusTwo!

    There I have saved you from what will be a very long thread in this comments section!

    54
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    Mute Stephen Harding
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:32 PM

    how much do you think an iPhone costs?

    85
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    Mute Chuck Eastwood
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:36 PM

    Have a wee look and see how much the iPhone with its weaker camera and operating system is to buy upfront. You might just get a fright. I never stick with one brand or model. just go with the best phone you can afford at the time. You are clueless if you think it’s an iPhone or Samsung everytime. Each will have their day just like this new baby. The camera with an f2 stop and expandable memory for me personally is a huge selling point with the hardware to run it smoothly. Food for thought for me

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    Mute JohnAbbs
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:40 PM

    Accidentally drop an iPhone into the Jacks and it becomes a paper weight.

    Drop the IP68 certified Sony Experia or Galaxy S5 into the jacks and give it a rinse and its grand.

    59
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    Mute tmwtbc
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:56 PM

    Went from HTC One in 2010 to iPhone 4 and 4S until this summer, and now have a Xperia Z3 Compact. it is best to test the field.

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    Mute TheBull
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    Oct 20th 2015, 6:04 PM

    The Z3 is the best phone I’ve ever had. Mostly because of the ps4 remote play. It’s brilliant.

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    Mute Adrian O'Leary
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    Oct 20th 2015, 6:48 PM

    I didn’t mean for people to take my post seriously! I was trying (and failed) to make fun of the same type of posts that appear on these articles all the time here. I would never stick to just one brand!

    42
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    Mute family guy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:02 PM

    Not happy with z3. camera always under or over exposed in auto mode. Bottom speaker crap. Ring volume poor. Won’t be buying another one

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    Mute Chuck Eastwood
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    Oct 21st 2015, 11:20 AM

    You see that’s why they bring out new phone don’t you know. New phone = new camera and speakers. There not asking you to buy the same phone again.

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    Mute Rob Davenport
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:42 PM

    stuff has the same I’ll informed crap last month the iPhone 6 looks like a lot of older htc models with design elements from same for example my htc mini m4 which is a few years older then the I phone has a metal back with a stripe near the top. Apple are not innovators they are excellent marketers.

    46
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    Mute Shane Hickey
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:05 PM

    I’m still using my HTC one as it is still a better spec than all the recent models

    25
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    Mute Derek hutchings
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:36 PM

    HTC need to come with some serious new stuff their last m9 we just not good enough

    23
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    Mute Supernova
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:38 PM

    The Chinese market with the one pluses and huaweis are out Doing them.

    35
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    Mute Ger
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    Oct 20th 2015, 6:24 PM

    My last 3 phones have been HTC, I really like the design. I had been thinking of switching to Samsung when my upgrade becomes available next month but looking at that I might just stick with HTC. 2g of ram and a decent camera is a big improvement for them.

    18
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    Mute Darach Malone
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:32 PM

    It’s a shame so many people skip over HTC when buying an Android phone. They make excellent handsets but don’t have the presence or money that Samsung have.

    17
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    Mute Paul Wallace
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    Oct 20th 2015, 5:36 PM

    Looks awful

    11
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    Mute Mr. Unwieldy
    Favourite Mr. Unwieldy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:38 PM

    looked up the spec, should be a 20 mp camera, Chipstead should be an octocore snapdragon 810. This would make it a contender but the battery let’s it down. imo HTC have failed

    6
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    Mute Martin O' Neill
    Favourite Martin O' Neill
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:33 PM

    Best phone on the market is the Sony Xperia Z5, end of! Makes the I Phone 6s look like a telephone box!

    4
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    Mute Keano
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    Oct 20th 2015, 11:55 PM

    Looks nothing thing like an iPhone. The home button is the same as a Samsung device.

    3
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