HTC One M9 Photos Emerge Ahead of Release

The upcoming HTC One M9 release date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but today ahead of the official unveiling set for March 1st the device is being pictured for the first time. Revealing HTC’s new One M9 flagship smartphone and its 20 megapixel camera for the first time.

The first HTC One M9 rumors started to emerge way back in September last year with some initial concept renders, but over the past few months more and more details have surfaced giving us a good idea of what to expect from the manufacturer. HTC’s One M8 was heavily rumored in early 2014 before being announced and released at the end of March, and the same situation is unfolding for the new device.

Read: HTC One M9 Rumors: 5 Things You Need to Know

In 2014, the HTC One M8 was rumored for months and multiple images leaked before it was announced, and today we have what could be the first photos of the new HTC One M9. This year we heard the device would be more of a secret, rather than all the details being known before it was announced, but with all the specs nearly confirmed and new photos today, there’s not much else to learn. Read on for everything we know.

Today thanks to some new information provided by Nowhereelse.fr, it looks like the new HTC smartphone will either be called the HTC One M9, like many expect, or something else as the device is still being tied to the codename “HTC Hima” for now. That said, they’ve managed to reconfirm some of the specs, but more importantly, share the first images of HTC’s new smartphone.

Above and below are the first photos of HTC’s upcoming smartphone that will be announced on March 1st in Spain for the annual Mobile World Congress press event. That’s of course if these images are legit. Just like many rumors we’ve heard, the design is largely unchanged and the front looks almost just like last year. However it’s the specs under the hood and what’s on back that makes this device different.

The images show a largely unchanged device, but you’ll instantly notice a huge square camera on back. That is to house the reported 20 megapixel rear camera, and they’ve moved the 4 UltraPixel camera from the back around front for improved selfies.

From what we’ve been hearing, and now reportedly confirmed by Bloomberg yesterday, the HTC One M9 will be an impressive flagship smartphone with many key features of the M8, only better. They mentioned an improved front and rear camera, a blazing fast processor, better audio and more, all which we can see in these images and have detailed below.

While specs and hard numbers aren’t extremely important, it’s something many buyers are interested in. Below are the details based on leaks, benchmark tests, and the latest rumors.

HTC One M9 Specs (Rumored)

• 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 Quad-HD screen
• 2.3 GHz 8-core Snapdragon 810 processor
• 3GB of RAM
• 32GB of internal storage and a micro-SD slot for expansion
• 20 MP rear facing camera and 4 Ultrapixel front shooter
• Android 5.0.1 Lollipop and HTC Sense UI 7.0
• Dual HTC Boomsound Speakers with Dolby 5.1 Audio Technology
• 2,880 or 3,000 mAh battery
• more

The list makes this one impressive smartphone, and if HTC can launch it inside the month of March after the March 1st unveiling, they’ll have a huge advantage over the Samsung Galaxy S6, the LG G4, and anything else we’ll be seeing from Motorola this year. Last year the device was unveiled on March 27th, but didn’t hit US carriers until April around the same time as the Galaxy S5, so HTC is likely looking to speed up the launch and beat their competitors to market in 2015.

For now we seemingly have the full spec sheet and now photos, but there are still a few things left unanswered. For one, the photo doesn’t show if there will still be a second “duo camera” on the back like last year, and we’re not sure if they’ll launch with Android 5.0.1 or Android 5.0.2 Lollipop once it gets released.

Then of course is the release date, which is the last remaining detail we’ll be looking for. HTC confirmed they’ll unveil the phone on March 1st, but we’re expecting the release to be at a later date.