The current flagship smartphone of Taiwanese tech company HTC is called the HTC One M9 which was launched in March this year and made it to the retail markets the following month.
While the flagship smartphone looks good, it fell short on consumer expectations because it only offered minimal upgrades from the company’s 2014 flagship handset, the HTC One M8. It also did not do well in sales, so the Taiwanese tech company immediately went back to the drawing board after a few months from the release of the HTC One M9.
So when the HTC One A9 was launched in September this year, everybody thought that it was to be the company’s latest flagship handset. It turned out that it is not because it was only a mid-range handset.
Still, the rumors persisted that HTC would launch its upcoming flagship smartphone even before its current flagship turns one year in the market by April next year.
Eventually, it became obvious that HTC would not be launching any more flagship smartphone this year. However, the reports did say that the flagship shall be called as the HTC One M10.
Three smartphones to be released next year
Initially, it was reported that HTC would only be launching the HTC One M10 either late in February or early March next year. However, it seems that there will be a change in the launching calendar of HTC next year as latest rumors have it that in addition to the HTC One M10, the Taiwanese tech company shall also be launching the HTC One X9.
Speculations about the HTC One X9 started making the rounds on the internet after its supposed leak appeared in China’s telecommunications equipment certification center, TENAA.
Just like the HTC One A9, which was launched in September, the HTC One X9 shall be a mid-range handset which would likely be launched during the first quarter of next year.
As such, HTC will have to defer the launching of its upcoming flagship smartphone to either May or June next year.
But now, there is another handset in the picture as reports have it that HTC shall also be launching the HTC One M9s around the second quarter of next year, which makes for a total of three smartphones to be released all on the first half of 2015.
A budget variant of a flagship smartphone
As its name implies, HTC One M9s is a variant of the company’s current flagship smartphone which indicate that it is going to have flagship specifications and features as well.
But according to Yibada, the HTC One M9s will be a budget smartphone with decent specifications and features. The same report also indicates that the upcoming HTC One M10 is drawing inspiration from the features and specifications of the upcoming HTC One M9s.
HTC One M9s shall reportedly feature a 5-inch full HD LCD display, a MediaTek Helio X10 chipset backed by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, with space for expansion through a microSD slot capable of holding up to 2TB of data.
It shall also feature a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 4-megapixel front snapper with 2,840 mAH battery.
Accordingly, the HTC One M10 will come out two to three months after the first quarter release of the HTC One X9, reports the Latinos Post.
HTC apparently wants to put its flagship brand back on track after the dismal showing of the HTC One M9 following its launch in March this year.
Because of the minimal upgrades from its predecessor from last year, the HTC One M8, the HTC One M9 experienced the same fate as the Samsung Galaxy S5 last year, when the Korean tech giant only made minimal upgrades to the Samsung Galaxy S4 the year before.
As smartphone users have now become more intelligent and discerning, current flagship devices need to be on top of their game if they are to pass the rising standards of consumers. Any half-baked and run-off-the-mill smartphones will wear itself out in the market long before it completes its customary one-year cycle.