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Phone Comparisons: Xiaomi Mi Note Pro vs HTC One M9

Pictured: Cory McNutt
By Cory McNutt
April 23, 2015
Featured image for Phone Comparisons: Xiaomi Mi Note Pro vs HTC One M9

Introduction

Do we have a good one for you today – the newest HTC One M9 goes up against the newest Xiaomi Mi Note Pro.  When we put the HTC One M8 up against the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, we heard cries of ‘foul,’ you cannot expect a year old device to go up against a brand new one…well, here we are, pitting new versus new.  Will the new HTC One M9 be able to win this battle of all-metal versus glass and metal?

These devices, different as they are, do have several common features, besides their beautiful looks.  They both use the LCD display technology and, most importantly, they each use the same 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor.  Their camera areas, main and front-facing (FFC) match up very well with one another – the Note Pro has less megapixels, 13MP versus 20MP, but makes up for it by including OIS.  They have the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and microUSB port for charging and data transfer.  Their Qualcomm heritage gives Quick Charge 2.0 to both devices.

Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details.  After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons.  From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.

 Xiaomi Mi Note Pro

AH Xiaomi Note Pro-6Xiaomi is known for offering well-built devices that were always nice looking, but the new Xiaomi Mi Note Pro is a real work of premium art with its all glass and metal construction.  It uses Gorilla Glass 2.5D for the display – which means that the glass edge is slightly angled downward – and the back of the device uses Gorilla Glass 3D – which means it actually curves up, in a ‘cup-like’ fashion.  After the innards are placed inside, these two pieces of glass are ‘strapped’ together by a metal band and it fits and feels great in your hands…not to mention giving it a very premium look.

The Mi Note Pro is a true flagship – it sports a 5.7-inch QHD IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and 515 pixels-per-inch (PPI) versus the One M9’s 5-inch FHD display with 441 PPI.  Xiaomi uses the most advanced Qualcomm processor on the market – the 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 with four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and the other four clocked at 2.0GHz, and is the same processor used in the One M9.  The Mi Note Pro packs a full 4GB of RAM and 64GB of fixed internal storage with no room for expansion.  This is 1GB more RAM and twice the internal storage found on the One M9, however, the One M9 does allow room for expansion of the internal storage.

The camera uses a 13MP sensor with autofocus, dual-tone LED Flash and OIS compared to the 20MP on the One M9, minus the OIS.  The Mi Note Pro uses a nice sized 4MP front-facing camera (FFC) for social media selfies and video chatting compared to the 4MP UltraPixel FFC on the One M9.  The battery is a non-removable 3000mAh, which is larger than the non-removable 2840mAh battery found in the One M9, although it will need that extra size to run the QHD display.

The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro is a dual-SIM device.  It does have a large bottom mounted speaker and has enhanced audio circuits for better listening through headsets or external speakers…but still cannot top the sound of HTC’s BoomSound.  It is running the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop with Xiaomi’s heavy MIUI 6 running on top and comes in black, white or gold.  It works on US LTE networks that use 4G FDD-LTE bands 3 (1800MHz) and 7 (2600MHz) and it will cost you only $532 off-contract and should be available later in May.

HTC One M9

AH HTC One M9 2015 Chris --15The new HTC One M9 could never be mistaken for anything but part of the HTC One family – in fact, it looks more like the original One M7 since its shed its Duo Camera.  It still has the comfortable curved backed all aluminum design that looks premium and feels great in the hand.  HTC redesigned the sides ever so slightly and introduced a small lip that helps the user better grip the device.  It also has the trademark HTC BoomSound dual, front-facing stereo speakers.

The One M9 comes with the same display as the previous One M8 – a 5-inch FHD LCD type display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 441 PPI – quite a bit down from the QHD display on the Mi Note Pro with 515 PPI.  It is a better size for a daily driver, but the HTC’s large top and bottom bezels make it almost as tall as the Mi Note Pro.  HTC also used the newest 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core also found in the Mi Note Pro.  It packs 3GB of RAM, versus 4GB in the Note Pro.  The One M9 does shine with its 32GB of base storage and a microSD card slot to add additional storage – the Note Pro offers 64GB of on-board storage, but no way to expand.

HTC revamped their camera areas by getting rid of the 4MP UltraPixel main camera and Duo Camera and replacing them with a more ‘standard’ 20MP sensor with autofocus, dual-tone LED flash, still no OIS, but stacks up quite nicely with the 13MP camera on the Note Pro, which has all of the above and adds OIS.  HTC moved the 4MP UltraPixel camera to the front, which should give you great selfies or video chatting…the Mi Note Pro also has a 4MP FFC.  It uses a non-removable 2840mAh battery…slightly smaller than the 3000mAh in the Note Pro, although the Note Pro’s QHD will be more power hungry.

The HTC One M9 includes a built-in IR Blaster, NFC capabilities, a stereo FM radio and dual stereo front-facing speakers with BoomSound.  It comes in Gunmetal Gray, Amber Gold, Silver/Rose Gold and Gold/Pink.  It is available on major US carriers, runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and pricing is around $600 off contract and $199 on a two-year contract.

…And The Winner Is…

AH HTC One M9 2015 Chris --12

Summary

This was a very difficult decision and could really go both ways – if you like the design of the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, must have a QHD display, do not mind the absence of NFC and the limited US LTE carriers, then it would be a terrific smartphone for you.  But, if you are willing to give up the QHD display, then the new HTC One M9 would be your selection and is our winner of this comparison.

The HTC One M9 does not have the display to compete with the Note Pro, but once you get that out of the way, you have a beautifully designed device and the same processor as the Note Pro.  Sure, there is ‘only’ 3GB of RAM versus 4GB in the Note Pro, but I think we can all agree the 3GB is plenty.  The One M9 has expandable storage, NFC capability, a built-in IR Blaster, a FM Stereo Radio, Notification lights, lesser drain on the battery with FHD and let us not forget, the best sounding smartphone on the market with HTC’s BoomSound.

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