HTC One M9 Rumor Roundup: What You Should Know

As we all know, the upcoming HTC One M9 smartphone is officially set to be announced on March 1st in Spain, and as the launch date nears we’re still getting bits and pieces of details, and a slew of new information has arrived this week. With that, here we take a look at all the rumors as well as what we know so far about the HTC One M9 before the release date arrives.

After a successful HTC One and HTC One M8 in 2014, the company is looking to built on that success with an all-new smartphone in the first half of this year. It is codenamed the HTC Hima, but will most likely be released as the HTC One M9, even if HTC UK is claiming something different.

Read: HTC One M9 vs Galaxy S5: What We Know So Far

The first rumors started floating around in September of last year with concepts and other light news, but over the past month the rumors have gone into overdrive. One leakster confirmed the specs with some leaked benchmarks, images surfaced which turned out to be fakes, and even some pretty neat concept renders based on rumors. With that, below are all the rumors thus far as we head into the final weeks before the reveal.

Last month after the leaks started emerging at a staggering fast pace, HTC quickly sent out event reminders confirming the March 1st announcement date. Since then most the rumors have calmed down, except for a few new ones this week. Talks of two devices being revealed, the screen size and resolution, and a potential release date will all be addressed for prospective buyers.

Design

The design was rumored to be nearly the exact same as last year with some minor changes to the rear camera and button placement, but if HTCSource is correct with its earlier statements, the new HTC One M9 will look much different than the last two released.

HTC has thankfully removed the large aluminum and black bar bezels around the screen, and the HTC One M9 will have an edge-to-edge glass display, with both front facing boomsound speakers getting a redesign making them more compact and pushed to the top and bottom edge. This makes for a much cleaner look, and less bezels, allowing for nearly all screen real-estate. Below is the last actual device leak, courtesy of @evleaks.

The photo above is the latest image to leak, and the only one claiming to be the real smartphone, and not a decoy unit released by HTC to muddy the waters. It will reportedly look much different than previous years, and one that many buyers should be excited about. Rumors state the same all aluminum design will be included, with the same three color options as last year. Those being silver, black and gold.

HTC moved the power button to the right side below the volume rocker, and replaced a rocker with two dedicated volume buttons for ease of use. The design has similarities to the new iPhone 6, but either way it still looks very sharp. This could be the best phone of the year. Here’s a concept based on the rumors mentioned above.

Display

Early reports claimed the new HTC One M9 would feature a bigger display than the previous year, just like each new release. The original One M7 was 4.7-inches, the One M8 last year was 5, and we’re now hearing the new HTC One M9 will have a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 Quad-HD display. However, this week some wallpaper images leaked from the HTC One M9, and they have a 1080p resolution. Then, a benchmark leak stating the screen will in fact be a 5-inch 1080p display.

The rumors and leaks above suggest it will stay at 5-inches and keep the same 1080p HD display, rather than increase the resolution to 2560 x 1440 quad-HD like the Galaxy S6 or LG G3. This could potentially keep the battery lasting longer, allow for a sleek device, and helped remove the large bezels from before.

Camera

It’s no secret the camera on the HTC One lineup has been lacking. It’s one of the only things we complained about in our HTC One M8 review, and something many owners complained about as well. That won’t be a problem this year. Reports and leaked images claim it will sport a new 20.7 megapixel camera on the rear, and the 4 Ultrapixel camera from last year will be moved to the front for improved selfies and self portraits. That, or a few new rumors as well as the benchmark above claims the front camera could be 12 megapixels.

At this point it’s almost certain the device will have an improved camera, but how much better remains to be seen. Once it’s announced, released, and in our hands is when we’ll finally know for sure. HTC has put a lot of effort into camera features and technology this year with the HTC Eye experience, so expect good things on the camera front from the HTC One M9. Even if the image above is a decoy unit hiding the final design.

Specs

From what we’ve been hearing, and now reportedly confirmed by Bloomberg and the benchmark above, the HTC One M9 will be an impressive flagship smartphone with many key features of the M8, only better. They mention an improved front and rear camera, a blazing fast processor, better audio (when they already offer the best) along with a sleek new design.

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-inch 1920 x 1080p HD Display (edge-to-edge glass front)
• 2.3 GHz 8-core Snapdragon 810 processor (64-bit)
• 3GB of RAM
• 32GB of internal storage and a micro-SD slot for expansion
• 20 MP rear facing camera and 4 Ultrapixel front shooter (or 12 MP)
• 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

Sounds impressive right? The biggest changes here are the 8-core processor, the 20 megapixel rear camera, replacing the front camera, and of course the complete redesign of the look and feel of this smartphone. We have less than two weeks before we see the final product on March 1st, so stay tuned.

Release Date

The release date is essentially the only thing we haven’t seen or heard too many rumors about. While we’re still not 100% on the design and some of the specs, as things are always changing or being redesigned, it’s safe to say the final design has been done for a while and being manufactured in time for the release date. Which brings us to our final topic.

Last year the HTC One M8 was announced and released on March 27th, all on the same day. Something no other Android manufacturer does, and even beating Apple’s announcement and one week later release schedule. It was quite the surprise. That said, it was only available the same day from Verizon Wireless, with all other US carriers having to wait a few weeks if not longer. It was however released outside the US for most regions on March 27th.

This year, we’re hearing whispers of a similar plan but with a more aggressive approach. HTC has already announced they’ll reveal the phone on March 1st, and it’s highly likely that will be the release date too. Beating the Galaxy S6, LG G4, and other smartphones to market in 2015. It would be a good move if HTC can beat others to market, and we’re even hearing they could reveal and release a new HTC One Max on March 1st too. Stay tuned, as they have a few big announcements in the works.