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Verizon HTC One Release Date & Rumor Roundup

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One of the most rumored smartphones of the year, the Verizon HTC One, still hasn’t hit shelves, leaving consumers interested in the device puzzled as to its whereabouts. Over the past few weeks though, we’ve seen rumors pick up speed and we now get the sense that a Verizon powered HTC One may just be over the horizon.

In February, HTC took the stage in New York City and announced its latest flagship, the HTC One, a device that has arrived on shelves to compete against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5. The device, unsurprisingly, is a beast featuring a number of high end specifications that have consumers intrigued.

We could see a Verizon HTC One at the Verizon announcement.

The Verizon HTC One is still unannounced.

Starting with its full metal design, the HTC One also features a 4.7-inch 1080p display, an Ultrapixel camera that shoots fantastic pictures and video, 32GB or 64GB of storage, the new Sense 5 user interface over Android which includes a new flatter look and several new features including HTC Zoe and HTC BlinkFeed, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with an Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update supposedly coming soon.

The device arrived in April on a three big name carriers in the United States, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, a far cry from last year’s HTC One X flagship that arrived for AT&T and AT&T alone. However, rumors prior to its launch and shortly afterward suggested an arrival on Verizon, rumors that have persisted until this very day.

The Verizon HTC One remains unannounced, unofficial, and firmly in the shadows. However, there is no denying that it still holds a grip over many consumers who are searching for their next device, one to call their own for the next two years.

But will it ever come? And what will it look like, feature when it does? Here, we take a close, in-depth look at everything we know about the fabled Verizon HTC One.

Release Date

The Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One are likely behind a spike in Galaxy and iPhone trade-ins.

A Verizon HTC One release is heavily rumored for June.

Maybe the biggest question surrounding the Verizon HTC One is if it’s coming out. While things looked bleak after Verizon failed to announce the device at its CTIA event in Las Vegas on May 22nd, shortly thereafter, rumors started swirling again and in the past week, we now have a very good gauge on when to expect the Verizon HTC One.

Right now, there are three sources (@evleaks, an analyst from Taiwan, and @LLabTooFeR) that are all pointing to a release at some point in June. @evleaks who is notoriously accurate, thinks that it will arrive before July. BNP Paribas Securities Taiwan analyst Lauren Chen believes Verizon will release the phone sometime in late June. And @LlabTooFeR, who is also accurate with his leaks, claims that it “might” be out before the end of June.

Read: Verizon HTC One Release Looking Good for June.

None of them have given a specific date and no specific dates have leaked out thus far. However, everything we’re hearing and seeing points to an announcement at some point in June. Something else to keep in mind is that an earlier report from AllThingsD pointed to an arrival one to two months after the other carriers. They launched in April, June falls perfectly into that time frame.

There are a few theories out there about the Verizon HTC One’s arrival. One is that Verizon waited until HTC got its supply under control. It has reportedly done just that.

The second theory, Verizon could simply be waiting for HTC to roll out Android 4.2 before rolling out its model. Android 4.2 has been rumored to be arriving very soon and it would be frustrating, for potential Verizon users, to buy a phone whose Android software was already outdated. So perhaps HTC and Verizon are waiting on that roll out.

Hardware

While many consumers were likely hoping for a super-charged HTC One for Verizon, perhaps a 5-inch HTC Butterfly 2, a device that is thought to have many HTC One characteristics but feature a 5-inch display, it’s looking more and more like the Verizon HTC One will be coming with the same hardware as the original HTC One.

That means a 4.7-inch 1080p display. That means a metal design. That means an Ultrapixel camera. That means a non-removable back. That means 32GB of storage, at least. And that means all of the bells and whistles that the HTC One has to offer including NFC and Bluetooth.

Consumers can expect at least one advantage and that is in regards to LTE coverage. Any Verizon HTC One that emerges will have 4G LTE support and Verizon fortunately has the largest 4G LTE network in the land, absolutely trouncing the competition in available coverage.

The second largest 4G LTE network, AT&T, is miles behind Verizon but will likely catch up by the end of the year. So the advantage will only be an advantage for so long.

Software

All indications are that the Verizon HTC One will have the same software as the normal HTC One. This is not surprising considering the variants on AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile share similar software.

@LLabTooFeR claims that the Verizon version will have Sense 5, the same version of Sense that is found in the other models, which means that it will come with HTC Zoe, the powerful camera feature and HTC BlinkFeed, the customizable home screen feature.

HTC is thought to be delivering Sense 5.1 with Android 4.2 so it could be that the Verizon HTC One also arrives with a new version of Sense.

The other models are currently running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean but we imagine that the Verizon model could arrive with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We’ve heard that the software is almost ready for the HTC One and could arrive in early June. Android 4.3 is thought to be coming out on June 10th, but we don’t expect it to be on board the Verizon HTC One.

Price

The Verizon HTC One price is unknown.

The Verizon HTC One price is unknown.

So far, we haven’t heard anything about the Verizon HTC One’s price though we don’t expect it to cost any more than the $199.99 Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB that recently hit Verizon’s network. Of course, that device comes with a $50 rebate but it’s still a $199.99 device.

AT&T and Sprint, which offer it on-contract, offer it for $199.99. AT&T offers a larger 64GB for $299.99 but at this point, a 64GB model for Verizon is unlikely.

Many consumers will opt to buy through Verizon, if and when it comes out, but retailers like Amazon will more than likely have some deals available right from the get-go.

Competition

The Verizon HTC One isn’t the only rumored HTC device. In fact, those who are interesting in buying the Verizon model should be keenly aware that three other HTC-like devices are rumored to be coming later this year.

First, the HTC M4, a device thought to be called the HTC One Mini. It’s thought to be coming to AT&T, at least, in the future with an announcement potentially happening next month.

Second, the HTC Butterfly 2. The HTC Butterfly 2 is thought to be coming in the third quarter with much of the HTC One’s hardware specifications but with a 5-inch display. The Droid DNA was Verizon’s version of the original Butterfly, so it could be that the Butterfly lands as the Droid DNA 2.

The HTC One Nexus is real and arrives next month.

The HTC One Nexus is real and arrives next month.

And finally third, the HTC T6 which is thought to be a massive HTC One device coming later this year with a 5.9-inch display, stylus, Android Key Lime Pie, Ultrapixel camera and a metal design of sorts. It will likely be the company’s answer to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

In addition, an HTC One Nexus will be heading to the Google Play Store in June with a steep price tag and vanilla Android. It won’t work on Verizon, but it will be a tempting offer nonetheless.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. kmac_321

    05/30/2013 at 4:18 pm

    Interesting… my only concern is the price.. I have to buy the HTC One on Full Retail price so I can keep my unlimited data on a small business plan. I just hope it’s not going to cost a ridiculous $600+ phone at full price. VZW owes it to the customers for waiting so long for this device. They better make a special deal I swear! Errrr

  2. gallen408

    05/30/2013 at 4:19 pm

    I’ve really got my fingers crossed for AWS support as well…

  3. Gad

    05/30/2013 at 4:44 pm

    Verizon can make more money on Telematics by adding Telogis to its portfolio already a leader well served plate all over the world here in the USA,UK,Canada,Germany,Brazil ,Mexico and new Zealand that a lot of doors for Verizon to establish new Telematic empire anyway i smell millions $$$$$$$$$ do you Verizon i guess the CEO’s don’t read shit LOL

  4. Larry

    05/30/2013 at 7:18 pm

    VZW don’t deserve this phone if they haven’t got it yet!!!

  5. Dummy

    05/31/2013 at 7:22 am

    Too Late HTC! Moto X is now on TBD Horizon! I’ve waited this long, might as well wait for an AMERICAN built phone! Plus, the “Creepy” sensors have me intrigued.

  6. Ty

    06/01/2013 at 10:35 pm

    Do you think it will be out by June
    15th

    • Larry

      06/02/2013 at 7:21 am

      Don’t hold your breath on that, you know how slow Verizon is, I hope so sooner they should have been the first to have it!!

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