HTC is attempting a course-correction and the HTC One A9 is the phone to set it on its new path. Or rather its old path – HTC was synonymous with “premium Android” back in the day, but lost its way the last couple of generations.

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HTC One A9 is the company’s latest smartphone and the first non-Nexus to launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The handset is supposed to freshen up the HTC portfolio and give another chance of the otherwise struggling One lineup.

The HTC One A9 is built around a 5″ AMOLED screen of 1080p resolution and is the first to run on the Snapdragon 617 chip. The SoC employs an octa-core processor with four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.5GHz and another four A53 ticking at 1.2GHz, Adreno 405 GPU and 2 or 3 GB of RAM depending on the version.

HTC says it designed the One A9 from scratch, blending signature elements of its previous phones, such as the antenna stripes on the back (first used on the HTC One M7 in 2013). The A9’s unibody is made entirely of metal, with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 protective glass shielding the entire front.

The One A9 is quite thin at just 7.2mm of thickness and it seems like a pocket-friendly chap with the 5″ screen and the 143g of weight.

The main camera of the One A9 packs 13MP sensor with optical image stabilization and 1080p video recording (Snapdragon 617 doesn’t support 4K). It supports RAW capturing and Hyperlapse (stabilized time-lapse) videos. The front snapper has a 4MP UltraPixel sensor and a bright F/2.0 aperture.

HTC One A9 comes with either 16 or 32GB of storage, expandable via a microSD slot. LTE connectivity is naturally supported, while a new high-power DAC promiese unmatched audio experience.

The Home key of the HTC One A9 doubles as an always-on fingerprint scanner, which will unlock your device even while the display is turned off. You can also use the sensor for Play Store payments thanks to the Android 6.0 Marshmallow running on the A9 right out of the box.

HTC One A9 is powered by a 2,150 mAh battery, which supports Quick Charge 2.0 (and 3.0), though you’ll have to buy a proper 15W HTC charger if you want to charge your battery lightning fast.

HTC will be offering a compatible Dot View II case for the One A9 with enhanced gesture controls, plus you can opt for HTC Pro Studio In-Ear headphones for the best BoomSound experience.

HTC One A9 launches the first week of November in Opal Silver, Carbon Grey, Deep Garnet and Topaz Gold. The pricing is yet to be…

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HTC is ready to unveil its latest smartphone offering the One A9. The company is holding a very special launch event in Barclays Center in New York.

In addition to the HTC One A9’s announcement, the company is partnering with music streaming service TIDAL for a concert of a grand scale. Stars such as Jay Z, Beyonce, Usher, Lil’ Wayne and Nicki Minaj are promised to be on stage.

The livestream starts shortly and you can watch it below.

Stay tuned for our hands-on of the One A9 to find out if HTC CEO Cher Wang pitch of the phone is close to reality or…

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Lenovo has been really invested in its new ZUK sub-brand, determined to do all it can to spread the word and win some vital market positions. Of course, the ZUK Z1 is front and center stage in this initiative and to make the budget-friendly handset even more desirable, Lenovo is now hosting a 10 day sales event.

Starting today, October 10 and all throughout October 20, you will be able to grab a ZUK Z1 for $299.99. The price slash concerns official retailers, like TOMTOP and GearBest, meaning there is quite a choice of outlets, but qualities might not last long. All promotional units will also come with a two year warranty and support from Lenovo’s currently expanding international network of service centers.

If you are just hearing about the ZUK Z1, it is quite an interesting offer, especially considering its tantalizing price tag. Boasting a 5.5 inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 801 chipset, 3GB of RAM and a 13MP OIS-enabled camera, we definitely understand what all the commotion is about. We also got a chance to get a closer look at the Z1 in our review and can concur that the handset has great potential and could very well be a star in the making.

Last, but not least, if you find the ZUK Z1 interesting, but don’t really feel like buying it quite yet, why not enter our giveaway in which, as luck would have it, one ZUK Z1 will soon find a happy new…

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A new Galaxy model – SM-W2016 – was spotted within the GFX database. It is powered by the high-end Exynos 7 Octa chipset with an octa-core processor, Mali-T760MP8 GPU and 3GB of RAM. The internal storage of the W2016 is 64GB and its camera duo is identical with the Galaxy S6 lineup – a 16MP 16:9 main camera and a 5MP front snapper.

Note that the benchmark suggests the screen is a 4.6″ HD one, but we’ve seen benchmarks get this wrong quite a few times in the past. The most fresh example is indeed the G9198 model, which leaked in GFXBench with the same 4.6″ HD display, but turned out differently.

The new model was also spotted recently inside the Zauba listings – it was imported in India for testing on October 6. The listed price is INR 26,725, which translates in roughly €360 before taxes (or about €420 if it were to sell in Europe).

Since the W2016 Galaxy was imported in India, there is a good chance it isn’t another phone meant for Korea.

Unfortunately we have to dismantle the theories about the W2016 being the Galaxy S6 mini. The SM-W2014 is the Korean model number for the original Galaxy Golden flip smartphone, released in Asia over a year ago. The SM-W2015 Galaxy Golden 2 leaked a year ago via TENAA, but we never heard about it again. And now it seems the SM-W2016 is the Galaxy Golden 3 flip smartphone.

Apparently Samsung created another niche device, but this time around it features flagship specs. The two display are most probably of the Super AMOLED…

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Meizu started a smartphone exchange campaign yesterday offering OnePlus 2 owners the chance to swap their phone for a new PRO 5.

In order to participate, you have to fill out a form telling Meizu why you want to “#TurnTheHeatOff” – an obvious reference to the heating issues of the Snapdragon 810 chip that powers the OnePlus 2. The company also continues to mock the OnePlus for the lack of NFC with the hashtag #TurnNFCOn.

Winners will receive an email later this week. It’s not yet certain if Meizu will be giving 3GB or 4GB version of the PRO 5 for those participating. The exchange program isn’t open to OnePlus One owners.

The Meizu PRO 5 has been on sale since October 12 and the 3GB RAM version costs $439, while the 4GB variant with 64GB storage goes for $490. As a reference, a 64GB OnePlus 2 retails for…

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Apple’s newest iPhones – the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went up for pre-orders in South Korea yesterday. Such was the fan frenzy that all the pre-orders were snapped up within minutes.

The country’s three mobile carriers – SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus – took pre-orders. KT revealed that the number surpassed 10,000 within the first one minute, with the complete pre-order quota of 50,000 units selling out in 10 minutes. On the other hand, LG Uplus’ pre-orders ended in the first 5 minutes, while SK Telecom’s said pre-orders (said to be around 50,000 in total) were sold out in 30 minutes.

Interestingly, both Samsung and LG have already slashed the prices of their flagships in the country. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S6 is now selling there for $706, down from $817. Similarly, the newly-released V10 from LG also received a price cut, now carrying the same tag as the Galaxy…

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Last month, Micromax subsidiary Yu said it’s planning to launch what it called “the most powerful smartphone ever,” and now the company has released a teaser image confirming that the device – called Yutopia (internally code-named Project Achilles) – will come with a metal body.

Although specs of the handset aren’t confirmed yet, from what we know till now, it will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset, and sport a 5.2 inch (QHD or 1080p) display. It will come with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

In terms of camera, the Yutopia is expected to feature a 21MP rear unit and an 8MP front snapper. It will run Android 5.1.1 Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12.1, while connectivity options will include Bluetooth 4.1, 4G LTE, GPS, and dual-band WiFi…

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Last week, there were reports that the Huawei Mate S – which was made official at this year’s IFA last month – will be launched in Malaysia on October 22. However, it has now been confirmed that the launch will happen around a week later – on October 27.

As you might already know, the smartphone comes with a Force Touch screen, something which is only available on the top-end 128GB model. According to tech blog SoyaCincau, Malaysia won’t get that particular model.

Pricing and availability details aren’t yet confirmed, although previous reports have suggested that the Mate S will carry a tag of RM2,698 (around $635) in the…

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In an apparent effort to create maximum hype around its upcoming One A9 smartphone, struggling Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC is pitching the device as a good alternative to Apple’s iPhones.

In a recent letter to employees, CEO Cher Wang said that the smartphone will “strike a balance between beauty, performance and simplicity,” making it good enough to replace the Cupertino-based company’s phones. She also said that the handset will make HTC employees proud.

Just last week, the One A9 – which is expected to be unveiled in New York City on October 20 – was accidentally listed by French carrier Orange on its website, revealing specs such as 5-inch FHD (1080p) display, 13MP rear and 4MP front camera, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. The listing also revealed a price tag of around…

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