HTC One S9 release date: handset arrives on European websites for €499

(www.htc.com)HTC One S9

Many were expecting that HTC was going to drop the "One" name from its lineup of upcoming smartphones after the HTC 10, but the company bucked the trend recently with the release of the One S9. However, as soon as news of the device was hitting the Internet, it became clear that its price tag was quite high.

The arrival of the HTC One S9 first off all notes that going by its specs, it is clear that the smartphone is a midrange offering. However, reports add that its price tag of €499 is "really expensive" and it could therefore fare badly in the market, which is seeing a number of cheap metal-bodied devices arriving.

As for the hardware on the HTC One S9, it has a Helio X10 chipset from MediaTek and it is definitely not the best. Additionally, the Helio range has often fallen short of other premium offerings like the chipsets in the Exynos and Snapdragon series, and has not gotten a lot of great press coverage like its competitors. However, the chipsets from the company have improved a lot over the years, and analysts expect that HTC is looking to keep the price of the One S9 down by including the Helio X10 chipset on it. RAM on the HTC One S9 is 2 GB, while there is a 16 GB onboard storage, which can be expanded via a microSD slot.

Midrange smartphones have become very popular over the past few years, and Samsung has capitalized on this and brought out a number of new devices in its lineup. These midrange devices have also helped the company improve its sales figures when its Galaxy S6 flagship lineup did not do as well as expected. However, HTC has seen its midrange lineup falter badly over the years, and it is likely that the HTC One S9 is not going to change the trend.

Finally, there are indications that the HTC One S9 will only be offered in Europe where it is currently being sold online.

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