HTC One M9 Selfie camera tested: is UltraPixel producing ultra-good selfies?

In the last two years, HTC had an unique solution - while competition was offering 8-megapixel, 13-, 16- or even 20- megapixel cameras, HTC decided to equip its flagship with an 4-megapixel one. They call it an "UltraPixel" camera, because it has smaller resolution but normally sized sensor, resulting in larger pixel size. This year's HTC One model - the M9 - is no longer featuring an "UltraPixel" main camera, but a StandardPixel 20-megapixel. However, the UtraPixel lives with the front selfie camera, which has 4-megapixel 16:9 resolution.

Here's what HTC says about it:

...the HTC One M9 addresses low-light shots with a powerful UltraPixel™ front-facing camera. Dynamic auto exposure and UltraPixels that capture 300% more light than standard cameras deliver sharper, more natural and balanced self-portraits in any lighting conditions.

So, are these "300% more light" beneficial? Is the M9's UltraPixel camera the best selfie camera? We tested it, and can prove that it is a great one, but not the best. For comparison, we used the Huawei Ascend Mate7, which features a "standard" 5-megapixel selfie cam - a good one, but not a great one (the Huawei Ascend P7 has superior 8-megapixel unit) - and the results are somewhat on par. The M9's selfie really preserves pretty good details in the objects nearby - e.g. your face. It also has good color fidelity, while the Mate7's photos turned out somewhat washed out in this rather low light conditions. However, the Mate7 was the one with better details in the background, as the M9's photos have more blurred background. It is not bokeh-like though, so is it a good or a bad thing? You decide.

M9's selfie viewing angle compared to the Mate7

However, M9's selfie cam's most serious drawback is its viewing angle. It is rather narrow, meaning that it would be hard for you to fit 3 or more people in a group selfie - you will definitely have to stretch your arm. This would be a smaller problem if the M9 offered a panorama/wide-selfie mode, but it doesn't. Still, this is just a software feature, so we hope HTC will add one, following the example of Huawei (P7 and Mate7) and Samsung Galaxy S6 (Edge) (which, by the way, also have pretty good selfie cams).

Below, you will find a few photos that we took at MWC 2015 with both the HTC One M9 and the Mate7. Both were set in full resolution and with minimum "beauty mode" setting, to preserve the finest details possible.