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HTC just announced a new flagship phone even iPhone owners could love

Antonio Villas-Boas

2015-10-20T17:43:41Z

HTC One A9 white

HTC just announced its new One A9 smartphone on Tuesday.

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For the One A9, HTC isn't trying to compete in the spec arms race that smartphone makers tend to engage in.

Instead, the HTC One A9 is a more modest sub-premium flagship that's not quite in the premium league like the older One M9 in terms of specs.

It looks and feels every bit as premium and works just as well, though, all while costing at least $200 less than its predecessor.

It'll certainly appeal to any Android user who appreciated the sleek designs on the new iPhones.

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The HTC One A9 has a 5-inch 1080p screen.

HTC One A9 white

The front glass panel slightly curves at the edges, which many will liken to the iPhone 6's curved glass edges.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

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Of course, the general shape and plastic antenna lines do make it look like an iPhone.

IMG_0152HTC One A9 back

The One A9 continues the HTC One M9's signature all-metal unibody build, which looks and feels fantastic.

HTC One A9 back angle

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And the sides have been bead-blasted for slightly smoother and shinier texture.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

The camera is 13-megapixels.

HTC One A9 camera

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It can take RAW images, which are best for editing. It's the purest form of the photo in terms of color and lighting.

HTC One A9 black camera

The home button is not an actual button. It's touch-activated and acts as a fingerprint scanner, like the OnePlus Two, which can be used for unlocking the phone and making mobile payments with Android Pay.

HTC One A9 front

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The fingerprint scanner is very fast.

There's a micro-SD port on the right side of the A9 that supports cards up to 2 terabytes, or 2000 gigabytes of storage. The 16GB model has 2GB RAM, and the 32GB model has 3GB RAM, which especially helps for multitasking apps.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

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Apart from the LG G4, the HTC One A9 is one of the only flagship devices with expandable micro-SD storage.

HTC One A9 micro SD SIM port

The One A9 runs the latest Android flavor, version 6.0 "Marshmallow," but HTC's Sense software suite still runs on top. Luckily, you'll be available to buy this phone unlocked, so you can skip your carrier's additional bloatware.

HTC One A9 HTC Sense

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Thanks to Android 6.0, the HTC One A9 has Google's new Now on Tap feature, which lets you see more information about whatever's on the screen, like getting show times while you're reading a movie's review.

HTC One A9 Android 6.0 Now on Tap

No USB-C this time. Though lots of new Android phones are adopting the latest universal connection standard, HTC said it actively went for good ol' micro-USB because it's the most common connector.

HTC One A9 bottom

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It might look like an iPhone, but it still definitely looks and feels like an HTC phone.

HTC One A9 black

The HTC One A9 will be available in November in white/silver and black/gray, and you can pre-order it now for $399 for a limited time. The price is likely to be higher once the promotion is over.

HTC One A9

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Other colors, like red and gold, will be available in the weeks after the phone's initial release.

HTC One A9 colors

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