UPDATED 10/02/14: The One Plus' rear leaks again, this time showing off an iPhone 5s-like dual white/amber LED flash
The HTC One is a lovely thing. Its good looks and outstanding build were a big part of the reason we awarded it the Android crown, placing it right at the top of Stuff's list of the 10 best smartphones in the world before the LG G2 came along to usurp it.
HTC isn't taking a breather. News of the HTC One Plus (codenamed the M8) has already started trickling through the wheels of the tech rumour mill.
Here's all we know about HTC's next-gen flagship Android smartphone so far.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
'HTC One 2'. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Its codename, M8, is pretty uninspiring too.
Luckily, it looks like HTC's new flagship will be called the HTC One Plus, thanks to official HTC cases appearing on Mobile Fun with the One Plus moniker.
READ MORE: Official cases suggest that HTC's next flagship could be called the One Plus
ONE DNA
The HTC One Plus will share 99 percent of its DNA with the current HTC One, if all the leaked pictures are to be believed.
The most recent shots courtesy of Russian site mobiltelefon.ru show off a phone that, at first glance, looks identical to the sexy aluminium HTC One we all know and love.
READ MORE: This is the HTC One Plus
Look closer though and you'll notice that the front capacitive buttons have been ditched for on-screen navigation buttons, freeing up more room for a larger display without increasing the overall size. This matches up with previous reports by @evleaks.
Leaked shots of the HTC One Plus' aluminium shell (courtesy of ePrice) also show off a One-like smooth curved aluminium back with polycarbonate accent strips. If you look closely enough you might notice a second smaller circular cutout above the camera too. More on that later...
UPDATE 07/02/14: @evleaks has released a screenshot from what it claims is the HTC One Plus's homescreen, seemingly adding more weight to the presence of on-screen navigation buttons.
SPECS
Famed Twitter leaker @evleaks believes that the HTC One Plus will have a 5in 1080p display (marginally bigger than the One's 4.7in offering), 2GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 800 processor, though we're hoping that this will get switched to the newer, more powerful Snapdragon 805.
@evleaks also shared that the One Plus will launch with HTC Sense 6, which should bring with it a few major tweaks and improvements to the current iteration of HTC's Android skin.
We expect the One Plus to arrive with at least 2GB of RAM and 32/64GB of memory, though we wouldn't keep our fingers crossed for a microSD slot if we were you. (That said, the HTC One Max has one, and there's a dual SIM One with a removable back in the offing, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility).
CAMERA - TWICE THE FUN?
The HTC One Plus is expected to land with two rear cameras. A leaked photo posted by @htcfamily_ru shows off a rear that features two camera lenses, which could be used for Lytro-like post-photo refocusing.
READ MORE: HTC One Plus (2, M8): dual rear cameras for Lytro-like refocusing confirmed
READ MORE: Lytro review
READ MORE: Lytro review
Another theory is that one lens could be better suited to low-light conditions, while the other takes care of well-lit environments.
It's not clear if HTC is sticking to its 'less is more' approach to megapixels - the current One's 'UltraPixel' camera uses fewer, bigger pixels than its rivals. Each pixel gathers more light, offering improved performance in low-light conditions. We weren't completely convinced by the UltraPixel technology, at least at 4MP resolution, in our HTC One review, so here's hoping a higher-resolution compromise has been reached.
READ MORE: HTC ONE review
A dual LED flash is also clearly visible, which points to potentially better flash photo credentials. Unlike the iPhone 5s' dual True Tone flash which has one white and one amber LED for improved colour reproduction, in this picture both of the HTC One 2's LEDs appear to be white.
The dual-cameras are also supported by Bloomberg's source, as well as by a number of third-party case designs. One case dug up by Gotta Be Mobile shows off two rear cutouts, adding more meat to the dual-lens rumour bones.
Update 10/02/04: Another shot of the HTC One Plus' rear show off the dual LED flash in greater detail, and it does in fact appear to have an amber LED flash, similar to the one found in the iPhone 5s. More accurate colours and realistic skin tones? Let's hope so.
RELEASE DATE
@evleaks has revealed that the HTC One 2 will be launched in New York City in March, making a Mobile World Congress launch look far less likely. That's a shame for the show: HTC launches have always been major coups for MWC.
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