Why You Shouldn’t Buy HTC One M9 Right Now

This week, US carriers are taking pre-orders for the brand new HTC One M9 smartphone ahead of its scheduled April 10 release date. While getting the latest and greatest from HTC is something you’re considering and a tempting proposition, there are a few reasons why you should wait until a smartphone is released before making a buying decision.

HTC’s new One M9 is an impressive and powerful smartphone and has a lot of things potential buyers are interested in. However, you may want to wait at least a few weeks. For one, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will also launch on April 10, so not to mention the HTC One M9, the LG G4 that will be announced later this month.

On March 1, HTC announced its new phone after months of rumors and speculation, and it came as no surprise when it came out. It looks extremely similar to the model released last year, but has tons of improvements to make it a worthy successor over the original. While pre-orders are tempting, especially with T-Mobile offering early deliveries before April 10, you may want to wait and we’ll explain why below.

The HTC One M9 has a beautiful 5-inch 1080p HD display, an all-aluminum unibody design, and some big improvements. It has a powerful 8-core Snapdragon 810 processor with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a micro SD slot to expand the internal memory, a better 20-megapixel camera and a larger battery than last year’s model. So what’s not to love?

We’re not saying we don’t like the new phone, even though it looks almost identical to the model released last year, but there are still a few reasons you might want to delay it.

HTC One M9 Price

For starters, price is a concern for many. HTC is asking $649 straight for the smartphone, and most carriers want something similar. However, you’ll be able to get it for $199 on a 2-year contract from most companies, or on monthly payment plans ranging from $25-$29 per month depending on carriers, payment plan length, and more.

AT&T is asking $699 direct for the smartphone, which is more than HTC and a few others, but it also has regular contract prices. T-Mobile then asks customers to pay $0 upfront and $27.08 per month for 24 months, making the device $649. It’s the same price HTC wants.

What we’re seeing here are a few changes to the carrier’s overall pricing, and that’s likely to change after the phone launches on April 10. Paying $649 or more for this new phone is a huge investment and something many people will want to consider before dropping that much money.

Amazon and Walmart will be offering HTC’s latest products, and both are known for slashing a few dollars off their standard price points. We’re not talking about a $100 price cut right away, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see prices drop by $20, $30, $50 shortly after arriving in early April. Amazon also often has deals for $0.01 or even $99 on a new 2-year contract, making this a good deal rather than pre-ordering from carriers in the US today.

However, with April 10 coming, we may see some impressive HTC One M9 deals begin to surface. Not to mention possible price cuts in a few weeks if sales aren’t as strong as some hope. This means that if you wait until the end of April, you can save a decent amount of money while buying a great phone.

Comments

Here we have the HTC One M9 and we enjoy everything it has to offer, but we haven’t quite finished our review of the device. Users will want to wait for reviews from most sites as well as reviews of devices from certain carriers to make sure they have all the details before purchasing the smartphone. T-Mobile has HD Voice calling and Wi-Fi calling in its versions, as does Verizon, and other factors will likely play a role in their purchasing decision.

Most of the reviews on the web so far are of the international version, which doesn’t use 4G LTE in the United States. And while several US carrier variants have been circulating and reviewed, not all information is detailed yet. Our first impressions so far are positive (and linked at the top of the page), but we’ll need more time to make a final decision before we can advise buyers. It does, however, look very similar to last year’s model, so know when you’re into it.

Get Hands-on Time

The best way to find out if a device’s design, size or features are right for you is to try it out for yourself. That is, you can delay ordering until you get your hands on the phone at a carrier store or Best Buy until April 10. Wait for it to be available, try the device’s 5-inch screen and size, and make sure it’s what you want.

With the ever-growing growth of many smartphones nowadays, the HTC One M9 is right in the middle with the 5 inch. Perfect for many, but for each its own.

HTC One M9 Plus

Speaking of size, there’s a larger 5.5-inch HTC One M9 Plus that has been rumored multiple times. This phone has a better 2k resolution display, a bigger screen, dual cameras on the back, a different processor and a dedicated hardware home button with fingerprint scanner. Similar to Galaxy S6, Note 4 and iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

If the small 5-inch size of the HTC One M9 isn’t for you, or you just want to get the same great smartphone in a bigger package, we’ll soon learn more about the HTC One M9 Plus. We are not sure if it will come to the US, but only a few days until the announcement. That means you might want to wait a week or so until the end of April, hopefully to find out if the larger HTC One M9 Plus is coming to the United States. In 2013, an HTC One Max was released a few months later, so keep that in mind.

Competition

Finally, do your research before you buy the first shiny thing you see about the competition, namely the HTC One M9. Yes, the HTC One M9 has a great design, a better camera, dual front-facing speakers and more, but before you waste your money, you’ll want to know what the competition has to offer. This year, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, great looking devices made of aluminum and glass, and a much improved LG G4 will be announced at the end of April.

The Galaxy S6 series will be available on the same day, April 10, so try both in stores. Then, if you wait a few weeks instead of pre-ordering the HTC One M9 today, you might have a chance to see leaks of the new LG G4, try the Galaxy S6 in stores, and make a better decision rather than just buy what it is. available now.

The HTC One M9 is a great phone from our first impressions, so no matter the cost, pre-order it now and get it as soon as it launches. However, before buying a new smartphone in 2015, waiting for opportunities, seeing what the competition is, and reading reviews or doing research before buying will put you in the best position.