HTC’s One series, currently comprising of last year’s M7 and this year’s M8, is among the most critically acclaimed. Yet, the M7 and M8 phones haven’t done as well commercially as HTC would’ve liked. A part of the reason why it’s been like that is because HTC are usually one cycle late to catch the latest flagship specifications. However, it looks as though HTC is all geared up to set the record straight with its next in line flagship smartphone, which by common logic, should be called M9 (unless HTC decides to start an all-new line of devices).
From what we’re hearing, the HTC M9 will feature a 5.5-inch display with a 2K/QHD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. This is exactly what the Meizu MX4 Pro does as well; you can expect the Chinese brand to flaunt the fact that it came before the M9, whenever that does happen. Coming back to the topic, the M9, besides the high-res screen, could very well pack the latest quad-core SoC from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 805. HTC might have made a small mistake by including only 2GB of RAM on their M8 this year, and that’s why the Taiwan company would want to have 3GB on next year’s M9.
Impressed? I’d believe so. But guess what, that’s not it. Rumours also point at a 16 MP OIS-enabled camera that might make it on to the M9’s rear. HTC have been creative with their camera tech, the M7 featured an ‘Ultrapixel’ camera, while the M8 comes with a Duo Camera setup. The company has also had a special focus towards audio, BoomSound speakers on the M8 are regarded as some of the best in the industry. For the M9, HTC is said to have partnered with audio giant Bose, which means there could be even greater emphasis on multimedia in general, this time round.
Lastly, a 3,500mAh battery is believed to feature on the M9. Like the last two models, you can expect it to be of non-removable nature. And to handle the software side of things, the M9 will have Android v5.0 Lollipop, which doesn’t really come as a surprise to me. With international and Chinese OEMs constantly dishing out affordable flagships, HTC might want to make its own line a bit more affordable.