Earlier today, a post on Twitter from HTC ROM developer @LlabTooFeR let it be known categorically that the rumored spec sheet of HTC’s upcoming smartphone, the One X9, is in fact, wrong. While the hardware being originally talked about gave the idea that the phone will be the most powerful ever to have come out of the HTC stable, @LlabTooFer seemed to suggest that the device will only be a mid-ranger, and will not sport the high-end hardware that was being bandied about. Now, yet another post on the microblogging site – this time from leaker extraordinaire Mr. Evan Blass aka @evleaks – seems to vindicate the tweets from @LlabTooFer.
One interesting thing to note however, is the fact that while @LlabTooFer denied all of the previous rumors, there were no indicators in those tweets about what one can actually expect from the upcoming handset from the Taiwanese vendor. This is where the latest post from @evleaks comes in. According to him, the HTC One X9 (known internally within HTC as model E56) will be powered by a MediaTek SoC, even though there’s no word on whether it will be the current-generation Helio X10 chip or the upcoming Helio X20, which is believed to ship with a deca-core application processor. Either way, according to Mr. Blass, the phone will feature a 1080p 5.5-inch panel, and come with only 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.
As for the cameras, the primary camera will apparently be a 13-meagapixel shooter, whereas the front camera will be an Ultrapixel unit with a 4-megapixel sensor. The battery meanwhile, will be a 3,000 mAh unit as opposed to the 3,500 mAh unit originally rumored. Although @LlabTooFer had not revealed any of the hardware specs of the One X9, he did mention that the device will launch in the first quarter of next year, and will be followed within about two to three months by the company’s next-generation flagship, the One M10.
All of the above hardware specs, if true, paints the picture of a lower mid-range device, which will be a welcome addition to HTC’s portfolio, seeing as its Desire range of handsets are not being able to compete on even terms with similarly-priced products from a number of other Chinese and Taiwanese vendors like OnePlus and Asus in critical markets. The company will be hoping that it will be able to regain some of its lost market share at the lower mid-range with the One X9 – provided of course the device does turn out to be exactly what Mr. Evan Blass says it will be. However, with no way to verify any of the conflicting claims or rumors doing the rounds, it’s important to take these tweets with a pinch of salt, even though @evleaks has a proven track record for a long time now.