News: Here's Your Official Look at the New HTC One M9

Today marked the official unveiling of the HTC One M9 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The newest HTC flagship will be released by the middle of March globally, and come in gold, gunmetal, pink, and silver. And if you were wondering, yes all of the leaks were pretty much spot on.

If you are familiar with previous HTC One models, then the M9 is exactly what you'd expect. It has a sleek, aluminum unibody and a camera that will make a novice seem like a professional photographer. For those of you who weren't able to catch the live announcement during the Utopia in Progress event, check out my breakdown of all the new features of HTC's latest flagship.

Specs

The HTC One M9 did not stray too far from the typical look that comes with the One line of devices, but it is slightly more powerful than its predecessor with its new Snapdragon 810 processor.

Here is a full breakdown of the M9's specs.

• Size: 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.61 mm
• 5.0-inch display
• HTC Sense 7 powered by Android 5.0 Lollipop
• MicroSD card slot
• 20MP rear camera
• 4MP UltraPixel front camera
• 2840mAh battery
• BoomSound with Dolby Audio 5.1 Surround Sound

Camera

HTC decided to ditch the M8's Duo camera, opting instead for a more traditional 20-megapixel rear camera sensor which should make capturing memories a breeze.

They also included a 4-megapixel front facing "Ultrapixel" camera with a wide angle lens that will definitely step your selfie game up, especially in low light.

Sense 7

HTC did not give too much away in terms of Sense 7's features, but what we can expect is an improved Cloud Gallery which links your Google, Flickr, Facebook, and Dropbox photo libraries, and Photo Editor that can create some pretty impressive double exposure shots.

With Sense 7, you'll also be able to send audio or video to your TV or wireless speakers with a three finger swipe gesture.

And in terms of the Sense Launcher, there is now the ability to create custom themes that will match wallpapers to your icons, app UIs, and status bar.

HTC also decided to add some Google Now like functionality by creating a location widget that displays specific app icons based on your location (and can also offer suggestions on places to eat).

Dot View Case

Due to its popularity with the M8, the M9 will gets own version of the HTC Dot View Case.

You will still get the same notification display screen that was in the previous model, but with the added ability of playing games and creating personalized messages that will scroll across the screen.

HTC Grip

Through its partnership with Under Armour, HTC is releasing its first fitness band, the HTC Grip. The Grip comes with a dual tone matte black and yellow finish and curved display which is similar to current offerings by Nike and Microsoft.

Using a combination of built-in sensors and Bluetooth, the HTC Grip and companion Under Armor Record app will make you feel like you have a "team of professional experts coaching you the entire time" you are working out. And as an added bonus, it will be compatible with both Android and iOS. Again, a launch date was not given, but we should expect the Grip's release sometime this spring.

HTC Vive

What really stole the show was the unveiling of HTC Vive, the virtual reality headset HTC is releasing with the help of Valve. With this headset, HTC is making its first real push into the gaming world, but there are also plans to work with leaders in the media industry, like HBO, to make the Vive as diverse as possible.

HTC promises that the Vive will transport you into new worlds by using its 70 onboard sensors and wireless controllers to create a fully interactive, 360 degree environment. While there was not a live demo of the Vive, there are plans to have public events which will be announced on the official Vive website, and a launch is expected by year's end.

World Wide Release

HTC has not released a definitive date for the M9's release, but they are aiming for mid-March. Hopefully this release is not met with the same amount of delays as the Android Lollipop GPE update.

Which feature are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook, Google+, or Twitter feeds.