HTC today launched a new mid-range handset under the ‘One’ moniker: the One S9. The handset features a curved unibody metal back that has a brushed finish to it, similar to the One M9. The camera module on the phone is rectangular, which is again reminiscent of the One M9. It is protected by a sapphire crystal lens to protect it from scratches. 

Unlike the 10, the One S9 features front-facing BoomSound speakers. The design of the speakers have been tweaked though, with the speakers now being better incorporated into the front of the phone, all thanks to the continuous glass front. Due to the BoomSound speakers, the One S9 features gigantic bezels at the top and bottom that really look like an eyesore. The 5-inch Full HD Super LCD display sits between the two speakers and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass. Like the One M9 and One M8, the One S9 features onscreen navigation buttons.

Internally, the One S9 is powered by an octa-core Helio X10 chipset clocked at 2GHz. The 10.09mm thick handset also features 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, microUSB port, Cat. 4 LTE, and a 2,840mAh battery. The lack of a fingerprint scanner on the One S9 is a notable exclusion from its spec sheet.

As for the cameras, the front of the phone features a 4MP ‘UltraPixel’ shooter with an f/2.0 aperture that is paired to an extremely wide angle lens. The 13MP shooter at the rear features an f/2.0 aperture and OIS. It is also aided by a two-tone flash. The rear camera is capable of recording videos in up to Full HD resolution and in 720p resolution in slow-motion. HTC also offers a Pro mode in the camera app of the One S9 that allows one to shoot photos in RAW format.

On the software front, the One S9 runs on Android 6.0 with HTC’s Sense UI on top of it. This means you get all the Marshmallow goodness like permissions manager, app standby and Doze.

Despite its mid-range specs, the One S9 is listed at €499 in Germany that makes it significantly more expensive than its competition. Another dud for the HTC? Or has the One S9 managed to catch your attention?