Motorola's Moto X Style (or Pure Edition if you're in the US) follows the great bang for your buck trend that we've seen since the company was under Google ownership. Let's see how this year's flagship stands up to HTC's current flagship, the One M9.
Size
The HTC One M9 isn't a small handset, but the Moto X Style is a little larger in every direction, measuring 6 percent taller, 8 percent wider and 15 percent thicker.
Weight
The Motorola smartphone is also 14 percent heavier than the M9.
Build (frame)
You'll find an aluminum band around the edges of the Moto X Style, while the One M9 has an all-aluminum unibody build.
Build (back)
Like previous Moto X smartphones, you can configure the Style with a choice of different materials on the back cover.
Colors
There are four finish options with HTC's 2015 flagship, but you'll get more choice with the Moto X Style.
Display size
HTC stuck with the same 5-inch panel size that we saw in last year's flagship.
Display resolution
Motorola has followed in the footsteps of LG, Samsung and its own Nexus 6, packing a quad HD panel into the Pure Edition. That makes it 18 percent sharper (going by pixel density) than HTC One M9.
Display type
The first two generations of the Moto X had AMOLED screens, but Motorola opted for a TFT panel this time around.
Fingerprint sensor
Neither company put a fingerprint sensor on its top tier 2015 handset.
Storage
In an unusual move, HTC is only selling its 2015 flagship in one (internal) storage tier.
MicroSD
Both smartphones are fitted with microSD card readers, making upgrading storage a breeze.
Processor
The One M9's processor will probably benchmark slightly higher, offering four cores clocked at 2GHz and four at 1.5 GHz. When we reviewed the HTC flagship, we found it had a tendency to run a little hot, so that could be why we've seen Motorola, and other manufacturers such as LG, opt for the hexa-core Snapdragon 808 instead.
RAM
Both smartphones give you 3 GB memory.
Battery
Given its more expansive, higher resolution display, it comes as little surprise that the Moto X Style's battery is a little larger than the M9's.
Removable battery
Like most of this year's flagship handsets, neither of these smartphones will let you swap out their batteries.
Fast charging
Both HTC and Motorola have included fast charging tech in their 2015 flagships. According to Motorola, if you use the supplied charger, you'll be able to get an extra 10 hours usage from just 15 minutes of charging.
Camera megapixels
This year's Moto X offers more megapixels on both its front and rear shooters. You won't find HTC's polarizing "Ultrapixel" camera on the 2015 handset, but the tech hasn't disappeared entirely, making its way to the front-facing camera instead.
Camera aperture
The Moto X Style wins out on the spec sheet here, offering a wider f/2.0 aperture.
Accidental damage warranty
Interestingly, one of the M9's most compelling features is something that you'll hopefully never have to make use of. When you purchase the phone, you'll get a year's worth of Uh Oh Protection, which promises a one-time replacement if you crack the screen, cause water damage or wish to switch carriers. And if you don't use the service within a year, you'll get US$100 off the next One flagship.
Software
If you like stock Android, then you'll be a fan of Motorola's pure Lollipop experience. You'll find HTC's Sense skin on the M9.
Release
The Moto X Style (Pure Edition) is set to arrive next month, half a year after the M9 hit shelves.
Starting price (full retail)
A big selling point of the Motorola handset is its price, coming in a full $250 cheaper than the typical full retail price for the One M9. If you keep your eyes open, though, you may find cheaper deals on the nearly six-month-old M9.
For more, you can hit up Gizmag's full HTC One M9 review.
