HTC One M9 Review!

Material Design

The HTC One M9 maintains its predecessor's all-metal design but introduces a few notable changes. Marques Brownlee highlights that the phone is no longer unibody, with several metal pieces held together, and features a color strip around the sides. This strip varies between models, with the gunmetal version having a black strip and the silver version featuring a gold accent 1.

The metal is also now this brushed look and it's a little more glossy, kind of making it a fingerprint magnet, but also making it look a little more like jewelry in a way.

--- Marques Brownlee

These changes give the phone a more luxurious appearance, though they also make it more prone to fingerprints and potentially slippery 1.

   

Button Layout

Button placement on the HTC One M9 has been adjusted, but not necessarily for the better. Marques Brownlee notes that the power button has been moved to the right side, below the volume buttons, which can lead to accidental presses 1.

The power button is now too low and to this day I still haven't gotten used to it.

--- Marques Brownlee

While the intention was to make the button more accessible, it has resulted in a less intuitive layout. Fortunately, features like double tap to wake and software button customization offer some relief from this design oversight 1.