Casually glancing at the One M9, you?d be forgiven for mistaking the handset for last year's version. The 5-inch display size hasn't changed, nor has HTC's reliance on an all-aluminum and composite finish. The company's design cues are now linked fairly tightly with the brand, much like Samsung has done with its Galaxy design and Apple with its iPhone - which in the One M9's case is a good thing.

The real magic with the One M9 happens within the shell, however. This year's model has Qualcomm's latest 64-bit engine, the Snapdragon 810. That's powering Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) and a new 20-megapixel rear camera, combined with 3GB of RAM and HTC's Sense...