Looks like HTC has something special for India. We had heard of the HTC One M9e a little while ago, but now it’s back and its the One ME9. It looks to be a lower specced and thus cheaper, version of the One M9+ announced for Asia just weeks after the HTC One M9 was announced in Barcelona. While we don’t know the full specs of the HTC One ME9, what we can tell is that the aluminum unibody is gone, and we have a matte finish instead. Which is obviously to save some cash. Additionally we have lost the second camera but kept the 20MP shooter on the back. Otherwise, this appears to be specced the same as the One M9+, with it’s MediaTek MT6795 processor and 3GB of RAM.
Currently, we don’t have any word on when it’s going to be released. However, 1400 dummy units came into the country on May 8th. that’s according to the import listing. These are dummy units, which are the ones that are typically put on display at stores. Which likely means a release is imminent.
We also don’t have any word on what the pricing will be for the HTC One ME9. But it should be cheaper than the HTC One M9+, which is going to be important in India, as the cheaper phones usually sell much better. Like the Moto G, and a slew of the Android One smartphones available over there. The HTC One ME9, much like the One M9+, likely will never make its way out of Asia, which is a bit sad, but it’s kinda what we expected. While it would be nice to have a cheaper, plastic, version of the HTC One M9 here in the US – for instance the HTC One E8 did that and was available on Sprint last year – it likely won’t be making the trip.
Looks like HTC can’t stick with just one flagship. Although that’s understandable when you are targeting the big three markets, the US, China and India. As they are all different, in terms of what customers want in those countries.
