Why You Shouldn’t Buy the HTC One M9 Right Now

This week US carriers are taking pre-orders for the brand new HTC One M9 smartphone ahead of the release date that’s scheduled for April 10th. And while picking up the latest and greatest from HTC may be something you’re considering, and a tempting offer, there are a few reasons you should wait until after the release before making a smartphone purchase decision.

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

Read: 5 Things to Know About the HTC One M9

On March 1st HTC announced the new phone after months of rumors and speculation, and it came as no surprise when it was revealed. 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 ahead of April 10th, you may want to wait, and below we’ll explain why.

The HTC One M9 comes with 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 over last years model. So what’s not to like?

We’re not saying we don’t like the new phone, even though it looks nearly identical to the model released last year, but there’s still a few reasons you may want to hold off.

HTC One M9 Price

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

AT&T is asking $699 for the smartphone outright, which is more than HTC and a few others, but they do have regular on-contract pricing as well. Then T-Mobile is asking customers to pay $0 up front and $27.08 a month for 24 months, making the device $649. The same price HTC is asking.

What we’re seeing here are a few changes to the overall price from carriers, and that will likely change after the phone is released on April 10th. Paying $649 or more for this new phone is a huge investment, and something many will want to consider before dropping that much cash.

Amazon and Walmart are both going to offer HTC’s latest, and are both known for cutting a few dollars off the standard price points. We’re not talking an immediate $100 price cut but we wouldn’t be shocked if we saw the prices dip $20, $30, $50 shortly after their arrival in early April. Amazon also often has $0.01 cent deals with a new 2-year contract, or even $99, making it a good deal rather than pre-ordering today from carriers here in the US.

That all said, we could see some impressive HTC One M9 deals start to surface once the April 10th date comes. Not to mention potential price cuts within a few weeks if sales aren’t as strong as some hope. This means if you wait until the end of April, you could save a decent amount of cash while still getting a great phone.

Reviews

We have the HTC One M9 here and have been enjoying all it has to offer, but aren’t quite done reviewing the device. Users will want to wait for reviews from most sites, as well as reviews of devices on specific carriers to make sure they have all the details before buying the smartphone. T-Mobile has HD Voice calling and Wi-Fi calling on their version, as does Verizon, and other factors will likely play a role in purchase decisions as well.

So far most reviews around the web are of the international version that isn’t using 4G LTE here in the United States. And while a few US carrier variants are around, and have been reviewed, all the information hasn’t been detailed yet. So far our initial impressive are favorable (and linked to at the top of the page) but we’ll need more time to make a final judgement before giving out advise to buyers. That said, it’s very similar to the model last year, so know that going into it.

Get Hands-on Time

The best way to know if a devices design, size, or features are right for you is to try it yourself. Meaning that until you get your hands on the phone in a carrier store or Best Buy come April 10th, you may want to hold off on ordering. Wait for it to become available, try out the 5-inch screen and size of the device, and make sure it’s what you want.

With many smartphones getting bigger and bigger these days, the HTC One M9 is right in the middle at 5-inches. It’s perfect for many, but to each his own.

HTC One M9 Plus

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

If the small 5-inch size of the HTC One M9 isn’t right for you, or you’d like to get the same awesome smartphone but in a bigger package, we should be learning more about the HTC One M9 Plus soon. We’re not sure if it’s coming to the US or not, but the announcement is just a few days away. That means you may want to wait another week or so, or til the end of April, to hopefully find out if the bigger 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

Last but not least is regarding the competition, and doing your research before buying the first shiny thing you see, which is the HTC One M9. Yes, the HTC One M9 has a great design, a better camera, dual front facing speakers and more, but you’ll want to know what the competition has to offer before throwing down your cash. This year the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are awesome looking devices made with aluminum and glass, and a much improved LG G4 is set to be announced at the end of April.

The Galaxy S6 lineup is available the same day, April 10th, so try them both out in stores. Then, if you wait a few weeks rather than pre-order the HTC One M9 today, you can get a chance to see leaks of the new LG G4, try a Galaxy S6 in stores, and make a better decision rather than simply buying what’s available right now.

The HTC One M9 is a great phone from our initial impressions, so by all means, pre-order one now and get it the moment it’s available. That said, waiting for deals, seeing what the competition has, and reading reviews or doing research before buying will put you in the best position before you buy a new smartphone here in 2015.