No sooner does HTC release its One M8 flagship do we start hearing rumors of all sorts of new spin-offs.
Perhaps the most exciting of these is the HTC One M8 Prime, a phone which is said to improve on the HTC One M8 with more powerful innards, a better screen and more changes besides.
While it's exciting it's also questionable, as it seems odd that HTC would want to cannibalise the sales of the One M8, which is exactly what would happen if it released such a device any time soon.
Not to mention the fact that the company has finally released a handset with great battery life and upping the screen resolution could undo all that hard work.
Nevertheless, there are an increasing number of rumors surrounding it, so perhaps it does exist, and with the super-powered LG G3 now with us and Samsung rumored to be working on a Galaxy S5 Prime device of its own HTC might be feeling the pressure.
However, while there's enough information to suggest that this is or was a real thing,@evleaks is now reporting that it's been shelved or possibly turned in the M9 Prime, which is slated for release next year, suggesting a true successor to the One M8 rather than just an upgraded version of it.
Cut to the chase
What is it? An even more premium version of the One M8
When is it out? Probably between August - October. On the other hand it might have been cancelled.
What will it cost? Probably a lot.
What is it? An even more premium version of the One M8
When is it out? Probably between August - October. On the other hand it might have been cancelled.
What will it cost? Probably a lot.
HTC One M8 Prime release date and price
So rumors have mostly pointed to a release in the tail end of the year. The Times of India has reported hearing from a Weibo user that it will be unveiled in September.
More convincingly, 9to5Google has heard from "sources familiar with HTC's plan" that the M8 Prime will be launched before the iPhone 6, in either August or early September. Or rather, the HTC One M8 Plus will be, but we're assuming the Plus and the Prime are one and the same.
If it's intended as a successor to the HTC One Max then August, September or October would make sense as the One Max was released in October. That also gets it on the market close to Christmas and long enough after the HTC One M8 to hopefully not hamper that phones sales too much.
Unfortunately the most recent rumors, this time from the often reliable @evleaks, suggest that the HTC One M8 Prime might have been cancelled.
However the tipster goes on to say that there will be both an M9 and an M9 Prime next year, so even if this is true there's every chance that much of what we were expecting in the M8 Prime will arrive in one of these, it's just that we might have to wait until Q1 of 2015 to see it, as that's when the M9 Prime is touted for release. Strangely it's also reported that the M9 Prime will be arriving before the M9, which makes precisely no sense.
As for price, there's absolutely no word on that, but in all likelihood it's going to be even more expensive than the roughly £520, $685, AU$742 One M8, that is, if it ever even gets released.
HTC One M8 Prime display
@evleaks has told the world that the HTC One M8 Prime will have a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 (QHD) display, which would be up in both size and resolution from the 5-inch 1080p HTC One M8 display.
Sources speaking to 9to5Google agree with the resolution claims, though they don't shed any light on the size of the screen.
It would make sense for HTC to make a phone of that size and resolution, as it's a match for what LG has delivered in the G3, but we can't help but wonder what such a jump would do to the phone's battery life.
HTC One M8 Prime power
@evleaks also shed some light on the processor, claiming that the HTC One M8 Prime will be powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM.
9to5Google more or less agrees, claiming its sources spoke of a Snapdragon 805 processor and 3GB of RAM, though no mention of the speed was made.
If true then it would certainly be a force to be reckoned with, but on the other hand we haven't exactly found ourselves wishing that the HTC One M8 had more power.
The same source also revealed that the One M8 Prime will apparently support category 6 LTE, which theoretically allows for download speeds of up to 300Mbps - although few networks around the world are actually capable of delivering that.
HTC One M8 Prime design
Everyone's favourite Twitter tipster @evleaks is reporting that the HTC One M8 Prime will be waterproof and have an aluminium and liquid silicone casing. He's even handily supplied a render of what the phone will supposedly look like.
This could easily be fake and even if it's not there's no guarantee that it will be an accurate reflection of the final hardware, but for the most part it looks believable in that it looks a lot like the One M8 and given the 'One' in the name we'd be surprised if it strayed too far from that phones design aesthetic.
The waterproofing rumor seems fairly likely, as some other flagships such as the Sony Xperia Z2 and Samsung Galaxy S5 are water resistant, so it would make sense for HTC to protect its high end phones in the same way.
Another source agrees that the M8 Prime will be water resistant but claims that it will be made out of metal, just like the standard HTC One M8.
HTC One M8 Prime camera
A render of the HTC One M8 has emerged and it's focussed on the camera. There's good reason for that, as if it's to be believed then not only is there, for some reason, an ugly orange ring around the lens, but the camera module also appears to stick out from the back of the handset.
For a company that places so much focus on aesthetics we're not sure how convincing this is, but it does suggest that there could be some big camera changes afoot.
What those will be isn't clear. The Times of India is reporting that it will have an 18MP lens, with the same duo camera setup and 5MP front-facing snapper as the One M8.
That would mean ditching the Ultrapixels that the company has become so known for, but as that's an approach that's always received mixed reactions it might be for the best.
Sources speaking to 9to5Google instead point to a 13 megapixel lens, which would be in line with what we've seen on the HTC One Mini 2. Apparently the camera will have optical image stabilisation but it won't be a Duo Camera, yet the render above, supplied by @evleaks, clearly shows a second sensor, so there's definitely some dispute as to what form the camera will take.
HTC One M8 Prime operating system
Reports also suggest that the One M8 Prime may arrive sporting an updated version of HTC's user interface, dubbed Sense 6.5.
Unsurprisingly that will be running over the top of Google's Android interface - which we assume will be Android KitKat - but with the One M8 arriving with Sense 6 onboard, don't expect any big changes in 6.5.
- The One M8 Prime will face some competition from the iPhone 6.
Hi! I am UmEr Wa(Arshad), A part time blogger and love blogging. I am blogging since start of 2014. My main aim of blogging is to provide knowledge and my self experience to everyone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.- Way2hackie
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