This is the HTC One M9

HTC today announced the HTC One M9, its latest flagship smartphone. The HTC One M9 iterates on the design language the Taiwanese manufacturer used on its past two flagships, the One M7 and One M8, while providing a boost in hardware specifications.

HTC has stuck firm at 5-inches with the One M9, continuing to make use of a full high definition 1080p display. As with the One M7 and One M8, the One M9 boasts an all-metal body, this time featuring dual-toned accents and colour combinations such as rose gold and silver. HTC has also moved the handset's power button to the flagship's right-hand side, as is becoming increasing common with larger smartphones.

In terms of specifications, the One M9 features an eight-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, a 2840 mAh battery and 20 megapixel rear-facing camera. The One M9's iconic front-facing speakers continue to make use of HTC's BoomSound technology, which is now able to simulate 5.1 channel Dolby surround sound. HTC said that the One M9 supports the 700Mhz spectrum in Australia as well as CAT6 carrier aggregation, and is Voice over LTE (VoLTE) ready for when local telcos deploy the service later this year.

On the software side, HTC has made a number of changes to its Android overlay. Sense 7, based on Android Lollipop, includes new features such as One Gallery, a photo gallery app that displays all of a users photos in one location, whether they normally reside in the cloud, on Facebook or on their phone; location based functionality which changes the apps displayed on a user's home screen based on whether they're at work, home or on the go; and Themes, which allow the user to heavily personalise Sense 7 on a system-wide level.

HTC expects the One M9 to be available in Australia by the end of March at a price comparable to its past flagships. The HTC One M8 retailed for AUD$899 when it launched in Australia last year.