While HTC recently launched the iPhone-imitating HTC One A9 to tide us over, it’s the HTC One M10 which we really want to see, as that’s the next phone in HTC’s main flagship line.
With MWC 2016 fast approaching we could see it soon, given that's the case there are surprisingly few rumours, but there are some, as well as plenty of other things which we can take a guess at. So here’s what you need to know about the HTC One M10.
There aren't yet many release date rumours, but tipster LlabTooFeR has tweeted that the mid-range 'HTC One X9' will arrive in early 2016, followed 2-3 months later by the HTC One M10. So that sounds like an April or May launch.
That's slightly later than we'd have expected for the release date of the HTC One M10, as the last few HTC flagships have all launched early in the year, in around March or April. There's still a chance we'll see it then though and it's even possible that the HTC One M10 will turn up at MWC 2016, which runs from the 22nd to the 25th of February.
The HTC One M9 had an RRP of £579, so we’d expect the HTC One M10 will be similar, though if anything it could creep up to around £600, given the improvements that will presumably be found in it.
HTC has become known for creating stunning handsets, which look both premium and stylish in a way which once only Apple seemed capable of, so the design of the HTC One M10 is going to be of major interest.
Over the last few years HTC has been refining the design found on the HTC One M9, HTC One M8 and original HTC One, so it’s possible that the HTC One M10 will have a similar but further refined appearance.
We’re not convinced though. For one thing it’s hard to see what else HTC can do to improve the design without radically changing it, but more importantly, in an interview with the Taipei Times HTC’s CEO Cher Wang said that the company plans to make significant improvements in the design and innovation of its next flagship.
While she didn’t get into specifics that certainly makes it sound like there could be some major changes planned. The new phone is also said to be codenamed the HTC Perfume, rather than the HTC One M10. It's unlikely to go to market with that name, but that suggests it could have a completely new name, which again points to a change in design.
Whatever design the company goes with though, we’d expect it will be every bit as premium as the HTC One M9.
We don’t know anything about the display of the HTC One M10 yet. So far the company has stuck with 1080p screens on its flagships, but one rumour floating around for the HTC One A9 was that it could have a 1440 x 2560 QHD screen. It didn't, but it's possible that the HTC One M10 will, especially as the HTC One M9+ did.
It’s not known what size the screen will be either. The HTC One M9 and HTC One M8 each have 5.0-inch displays, so HTC may well stick with that size again, but we reckon it might get a bit bigger, especially if the resolution does increase. Our guess would be a 5.2-inch screen like the HTC One M9+.
We’d expect the HTC One M10 will sport a Snapdragon 820 chip. That's set to start appearing in a number of high-end phones very soon and HTC has long relied on Qualcomm for most of its flagship chips.
It’s bound to have at least 3GB of RAM, as even the HTC One M9 has that, but it could well get pushed up to 4GB.
One camera rumour suggests the HTC One M10 will have a 27MP rear snapper and a 5MP front-facing one, which would be a boost on the 20MP main camera in the HTC One M9. Whether the megapixels really do go up or not HTC's bound to improve the sensor, as the HTC One M9's camera was not well received.
The HTC One M10 may support wireless charging, or at least that’s what CTimes claims to have heard. That wouldn’t be such a surprise except that metal cases can interfere with wireless chargers, so it further suggests that HTC’s next flagship could sport a new design.
There have also been reports that the HTC One M10 could be waterproof. We'd be more surprised by that, though it's possible. While it hasn't specifically been leaked there's also every chance we'll see a fingerprint scanner and HTC is also likely to keep a microSD card slot in the phone.
