HTC One E9+ review: Positive charge

Synthetic benchamrks

Unlike the One M9, which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, the rest of this year's Ones, including the E9+, rely on the Mediatek MT6795 chipset. Also known as Helio X10, this Mediatek SoC is currently the company's top-end solution, at least until the tri-cluster deca-core Helio X20 comes along.

The chipset features an octa-core processor, which can be clocked up to 2.2GHz, but in the case of the E9+ clock speed is limited to 2.0GHz. It's what Mediatek calls a True Octa-core architecture - all 8 Cortex-A53 cores can work simultaneously to cover peak performance demands. The processor is joined by a PowerVR G6200 GPU and 3GB of RAM.

GeekBench 3 is a CPU-specific benchmark and unsurprisingly, having 8 processor cores toiling together helps the One E9+ wipe the floor with the S810 competition. It's still no match for the Exynos 7420 inside the Samsung Galaxy S6, which has a quad-core 2.1GHz Cortex-A57 and quad-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 processor configuration.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  5215
• HTC One E9+
  4796
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  3772
• HTC One M9
  3761
• LG G Flex2
  3604
• LG G4
  3509
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  3394
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  3386
• Huawei P8
  3380
• Motorola Nexus 6
  3285
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  3165
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  3094
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  2922
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  2884
• OnePlus One
  2663

Throwing graphics, memory and storage speed into the mix, Antutu is a better indication of overall performance. The scores here are more condensed, with only the Galaxy S6 in a league of its own, and the pre-production Sony Xpeia Z3+ somewhat ahead of the crowd. Other than that the MT6795 is on par with the S810 One M9 and Huawei P8 (Kirin 930), the three marginally better than the LG G4 (S808), Galaxy Note 4 (S805) and highest-specced Asus Zenfone 2 (Intel Atom Z3580).

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  69396
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  55195
• HTC One M9
  51427
• Huawei P8
  50876
• HTC One E9+
  50753
• Motorola Nexus 6
  49803
• LG G4
  49295
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  49273
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  48489
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  48361
• LG G Flex2
  47680
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  45632
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  41510

Basemark OS II 2.0 is another compound benchmark, but one that makes the E9+ look pretty bad compared to rivals. It places towards the bottom of the bunch in the overall score, with only the Huawei P8 a little behind. The E9+ is also trailing in single-core CPU performance. Those 8 cores have their say in the multi-core test though, where the E9+ comes up first.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  1726
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  1674
• LG G4
  1584
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  1479
• HTC One M9
  1365
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  1353
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  1267
• Motorola Nexus 6
  1267
• OnePlus One
  1230
• HTC One E9+
  1227
• Huawei P8
  1112
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  863
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  849

Basemark OS 2.0 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  6306
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  6165
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  6068
• LG G4
  5871
• Motorola Nexus 6
  5624
• LG G Flex2
  5597
• OnePlus One
  5108
• HTC One M9
  4688
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  4370
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  4365
• Huawei P8
  3684
• HTC One E9+
  3444
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  3118

Basemark OS 2.0 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• HTC One E9+
  28201
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  26799
• Huawei P8
  23676
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  22387
• Motorola Nexus 6
  21026
• OnePlus One
  19625
• LG G Flex2
  18856
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  18386
• HTC One M9
  18047
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  17882
• LG G4
  17739
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  17028
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  12080

Moving on to graphics performance, it becomes clear what's been dragging the MT6795 down in the compound benchmarks. The PowerVR G6200 is obviously not up to the task and is proving inadequate for the smartphone's high-end aspirations. All the different generations of Adreno GPUs in the Snapdragon series are markedly better.

In Basemark X for example, the One E9+ would have been last among this year's offerings, if wasn't for the even more disappointing Huawei P8 and its Mali-T628 MP4 GPU.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  27169
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  23334
• Motorola Nexus 6
  20901
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  20043
• HTC One M9
  19848
• LG G Flex2
  19360
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  18297
• LG G4
  15090
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  13414
• OnePlus One
  13129
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  13075
• HTC One E9+
  9639
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  9111
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  6501
• Huawei P8
  6307

GFXBench tells the same story, only darker. In the offscreen part of the T-Rex test (run at a standardized 1080p resolution) the One E9+ scores only 15fps, which is half of what even the Zenfone 2 manages. The Snapdragon 810 rivals are all in the high 40s, while the Galaxy S6 is alone at the top at 59fps.

In the tougher 3.0 Manhattan test the proportions are similar, and although the Galaxy S6' lead isn't as pronounced, the E9+ is still second to last.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  59
• HTC One M9
  49
• LG G Flex2
  49
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  46.5
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  44.6
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  40
• Motorola Nexus 6
  38.9
• LG G4
  34.5
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  30
• OnePlus One
  28.3
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  28
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  26
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  16.4
• HTC One E9+
  15
• Huawei P8
  10

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  24
• HTC One M9
  23
• LG G Flex2
  22
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  20.7
• Motorola Nexus 6
  18.6
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  18.6
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  18
• LG G4
  14.9
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  13
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  13
• OnePlus One
  12.1
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  11
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  8
• HTC One E9+
  6.6
• Huawei P8
  5.4

The onscreen tests are carried out at the respective devices' native resolution, which doesn't do the QHD One E9+ any favors - a solid last spot in both routines.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One M9
  50
• LG G Flex2
  48
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  46.8
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  38
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  30
• OnePlus One
  30
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  28
• Motorola Nexus 6
  27.4
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  26
• LG G4
  24.7
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  17.4
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  17
• Huawei P8
  10.7
• HTC One E9+
  10

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One M9
  24
• LG G Flex2
  22
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  20.5
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  14
• OnePlus One
  12.9
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  12
• Motorola Nexus 6
  11.9
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  11
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  11
• LG G4
  9.4
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  8.5
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  7.8
• Huawei P8
  5.7
• HTC One E9+
  5.4

Browser performance on the HTC One E9+ is yet another letdown. The JavaScript-focused Kraken 1.1 yields a score, which is on par with the Motorola Moto E and HTC Desire 616, an entry-level result.

The broader BrowserMark benchmark is a bit less stressing on the E9+, meaning it's trailing less behind the bunch. In all fairness, it may be an HTC thing, because even the S810-powered One M9 isn't on par with the rest of the similarly equipped devices.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• LG G4
  4085
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  4154
• LG G Flex2
  4621
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  4650
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  4745
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  5057
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  5181
• HTC One M9
  5500
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  5567
• Motorola Nexus 6
  6088
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  6382
• OnePlus One
  7008
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  10193
• Huawei P8
  11867
• HTC One E9+
  17430

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3389
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  2718
• Sony Xperia Z3+ pre-production
  2337
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Lollipop
  2232
• LG G Flex2
  2086
• LG G4
  1990
• Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML (Z3580) retail
  1853
• HTC One M9
  1681
• Motorola Nexus 6
  1447
• OnePlus One
  1339
• HTC One E9+
  1279
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  795
• Huawei P8
  764
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  748

So our first encounter with the Mediatek Helio X10 left us with mixed feelings. Yes, it does have very good raw CPU performance thanks to its True Octa-core architecture. But it lacks the GPU to match, and it would have been a bottleneck for a FullHD display, let alone a pixel-rich QHD.

And it's not just graphics, the browser scores reveal there's a lot to be done in terms of optimization. The chipset obviously has power to spare, it just doesn't deliver it.