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HTC's One S9 Android smartphone: sometimes mid-range is really strange

HTC's One S9 Android smartphone: sometimes mid-range is really strange

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HTC has announced a new smartphone now that it's successfully launched its flagship HTC 10. It's called the HTC One S9.

Here is what you should know about the HTC One S9. It's being universally hailed as a "mid-range" Android phone. That means it has components that aren't really the best, but still are put together into a nice-looking package. 2GB of RAM, a 1080p screen, 16GB of storage with expandable microSD, and a 13-megapixel camera. No fingerprint reader, though.

It also has a Helio X10 SoC from MediaTek, which is an outfit that makes a lot of cheap processors that people like to look down their nose at. But it powers other "mid-range" Android phones just fine and really, since this is a "mid-range" phone, maybe don't be so snooty about the processor, hey?

Except, well, the thing about "mid-range" phones is they should have "mid-range" prices, and the HTC One S9 does not: it's retailing for €499. That's really expensive for mid-range, and that's really odd. It looks like the One S9 is only available online and designed for the European market.

How to explain why this phone exists and why it's called the HTC One S9? It doesn't look like the HTC One A9. Instead, it looks like the HTC One M9. The "One" part of the name, means, well, we're actually not sure. Not sure about the S part either. Though we can confidently say that 9 is 1 less than 10, and the phone also has a "One" in the name, and also the one dollar bill has a pyramid and the all-seeing eye on the back of it. So the Illuminati are in charge of HTC's phone naming strategy. And it's pricing strategy, apparently.

Mid-range Android phones: sometimes they are strange.