HTC finally unveiled its latest smartphone Tuesday, which is the latest Hero handset called One A9. The device was the only one of two devices widely cited in previous rumors like those cited in a previous HNGN report. And confirming the earlier claim, the phone does look like an iPhone rip-off.

Tech enthusiasts were left scratching their heads as the One A9 was first introduced. It sports the same design language and proportions of the iPhone 6. And the similarity is made more pronounced once one picks the device up, as it feels like an offspring of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, according to The Verge. The image above demonstrates this, particularly with the aluminum unibody construction and near identical camera lens design.

HTC shamelessly paraded the A9 and did not shy away from questions about the device's iPhone design ambition. No less than HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang trumpeted that the A9 is a good alternative to the Apple device in an NDTV report. 

Once one gets over the initial shock of HTC's blatant copying of the iPhone - given that it has developed its own strong design tradition in the past - one finally sees the value proposition for the A9. The most important of these, of course, is that it resembles the iPhone in terms of quality. It feels premium, graceful and solid.

Its specs are also quite impressive and are comparable with many Android flagship smartphones today. The phone improved on HTC's camera technology and is still outfitted with one of the best audio technology available in mobile today.

It will ship with Android Marshmallow and retails at $399.99 in the U.S. for the unlocked variant.