I have a lot of phones. When I say a lot, I don't mean just a couple. I'm talking about so many phones that I often forget where several of them are. so many that I am embarrassed to list them for people when they ask. Why then, am I still using the HTC One M9 daily? After all, the M9 has been maligned by all tech media as being a second-tier flagship-behind the LG G4, behind the Samsung Galaxy S6, and perhaps even behind the Nexus 6. Let me take a few moments to explain.

Haters are always gonna hate. Many people whined incessantly in March when HTC released the M9, mainly because it looked just like an M8. I wasn't really that mad. Firstly, people should never be legitimately upset over a phone launch. Plus, I was a big fan of the M8. If the M9 shared traits with the M8, wasn't that a good thing? I certainly understand the frustration with HTC's poor camera quality, but outside of the camera, the M9 is one of the best Android experiences out there today.

The M9 is by far the smoothest running Android phone when using the stock software experience. I have yet to have lag when using my M9 with Sense 6.0. I did switch my launcher to Nova, but even with the Sense launcher, everything was incredibly fluid and snappy. At the end of the day, I care a lot more about speed than the camera when I'm working on productivity related tasks for work.

The speakers on the M9 are phenomenal. If you want to watch Youtube videos or listen to music without headphones, the M9 is the absolute best phone out there. I am constantly showing my coworkers videos online, and the M9 is my go-to phone because of the audio quality. Sure, the screen could be bigger. If HTC makes a phablet sized flagship, I would be the first to give them all my money.

The build on the M9 is still my favorite in the Android flagship space. I love the all-metal design. The glass backs of the S6 are beautiful, but the all-metal look is really more of my style. I would appreciate the bezels being a tiny bit smaller, but this is a necessary sacrifice for the aforementioned amazing Boom Sound speakers.

Finally, the battery life has been excellent for me. I find the battery life to be much better than my S6 or G4, which consistently die on me before the end of my work day. The M9 is not a beast of battery life like the S6 Active or Note 4, but it is a smaller phone that will get me through an entire day.

Overall, if you need a phone that has no lag and gives you quick access to all your apps at all times, I think the HTC One M9 is still one of the best out there. The camera frankly sucks, we all get that. If you need an amazing camera on your phone, this is definitely an easy pass. I am thankful to have multiple phones as well as my DSLR for pictures, so I still use my M9 every day. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I'm sure several people will disagree with me, but lets talk about it!