The HTC One M9’s custom nav bar lets you add extra buttons, or hide it altogether [VIDEO]

We’ve got to spend a lot of time with the HTC One M9 these past few days. During this time, we’ve been exploring all the ins and outs of its new software, HTC’s new and improved Sense 7. One of the more noteworthy new features (we already showed you guys every single new theme) we found was the new custom navigation bar.

Now, on most Android devices you have the typical Android software buttons — back, home, and recents — that rest along the bottom of the screen. For Sense 7 update, HTC is finally putting those software buttons to good use by giving users the ability to customize, not only their placement, but squeeze an extra button in the nav bar as well.

The function of this extra button can be changed to a few options: turn off screen, auto rotate, notifications, or (our personal favorite) hide the navigation bar completely. We know what you’re thinking, if the navigation bar is hidden, how will you navigate around the UI? Easy. Simply swipe up from the bottom HTC black bezel bar (see, it does have a function) and it reappears again.

Also worth pointing out is how great the “turn off screen” and “notifications” button could be for those with smaller hands who have difficulty reaching the notification drawer or power button on their device. The best part, once Sense 7 begins rolling out to older devices — like the HTC One M8 where the physical power button was tough to reach even for us — you should have no problem at all using the phone 1-handed.

Apparently this feature can also be found on the LG G3, even if HTC believes hiding the nav bar is a never-before-seen feature exclusive to the One M9. You can take a look at the new custom nav bar in our video down below.

Update: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated this feature was exclusive to the One M9. We’ve since updated the post to include the LG G3 as well.

HTC One M9’s Snapdragon 810 capable of reaching alarmingly high temperatures [UPDATE]

Early reports of overheating issues with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC may not have been entirely unfounded. It’s one of the reasons it was reported early on that Samsung would go with their own chipset for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Despite LG’s claims to the contrary, someone was finally able to put these claims to the test.

The folks at Dutch site Tweakers.net got a hold of an HTC One M9 and after putting it through a benchmarking stress test, found that the phone got hot… real hot. According to their heat sensing camera, the phone was capable of reaching upwards of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (55 Celsius). This was significantly warmer than comparable devices like the iPhone 6 Plus, LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, or even its predecessor, the HTC One M8 — all of which hovered around the 104-degree mark (40 Celsius).

A few things to keep in mind: this was a stress test. The GFXBench used was meant to push a device to its limits, one that not even 3D games like Asphalt 8 or Assassin’s Creed: Pirates were capable of reaching. When playing those same games, the One M9 was able to keep much reasonable temperatures, capping out at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius). 

Also, let’s not forget that this was a stress test performed on a device running non-final software and shouldn’t be reflective of normal day-to-day use. While the benchmark did cause the phone to get much warmer than competing devices, a lot can change from now and when the phone is eventually released as this is something that could be easily corrected in a software update (at the cost of slightly lower benchmarks).

UPDATE: After the above news started making the rounds, HTC Communications Manager Jeff Gordon tweeted out the following statement:

PSA: One more time, all together now: HTC One M9 software isn’t final yet, no matter how many pre-release benchmarks you run.

— Jeff Gordon (@urbanstrata) March 16, 2015

[Update: before and after!] HTC pushes out a much-needed update to improve the HTC One M9’s camera

UPDATE: see before and after photos that show improvements

One of the biggest knocks on the HTC One M9 despite its stylish good looks, powerful hardware and blissful software experience was its camera — it just wasn’t up to snuff despite being a 20 megapixel shooter. You can read our concerns regarding that in our HTC One M9 review.

But guess what? HTC’s been listening, and they’re just about ready to push the first software upgrade to fix that. The company has confirmed that a forthcoming upgrade (build 1.32.531.33, about 88MB in size for our T-Mobile unit) that specifically addresses the camera is currently in testing and should be ready for folks to download and install within a matter of days:

• AT&T and T-Mobile: The update is in final testing, and is expected to roll out in a week’s time.


• Sprint: The update is ready to go and will roll out beginning tomorrow.


• Verizon: The upgrade will be pre-loaded on Verizon’s devices when they go on sale tomorrow.

We’re not yet sure how much of a difference this will make for the camera experience, but for it to get its own software upgrade we’re expecting big things. We’ve already gotten our hands on it and will look to test out the new improvements in the moments to come. Stay tuned for some before and after shots, and get ready for it to hit your phone in the days to come!

HTC One M9’s first official release date is March 16th

HTC’s mid-March release window for the HTC One M9 is about as accurate as you can get. The company has just announced the first official availability date for the device. It’ll go on sale beginning March 16th in their home turf of Taiwan in conjunction with 5 of the nation’s largest carriers.

According to local press, HTC held the initial launch in Taiwan so as to instill some Taiwanese pride among the hometown people excited to buy their phone. They drove that point home with traditional festivities such as drum performances and a performance by a local orchestra. This is in contrast to last year’s strategy of making United States’ Verizon Wireless the very first carrier to call dibs on the HTC One M8.

HTC mentioned that while the M9’s officially recognized launch date is March 16th, it wouldn’t start showing up on store shelves of local carriers until March 23rd. Whether an international or global launch will happen at that point remains to be seen (B&H once let loose a March 25th date for those of us in the States), but if the phone is primed for one market then it should be good to go in many more.

We’ll try to get a more pointed release date as it pertains to everyone not in Taiwan, so sit tight (unless, of course, you’ll be fortunate enough to be in the nation next week and buy one for yourself). In the meantime get a good look at what to expect from our hands-on time with the device from Mobile World Congress last week.

[via Digitimes]