HTC One M8 Prime appears to be dead before arrival (updated)

By Andy Boxall Published May 30, 2014

Updated on 05-30-2014 by Williams Pelegrin: It looks like the One M8 Prime won’t see the light of day, after all. According to a recent leak by @evleaks, HTC has indefinitely suspended development on the rumored handset. No further explanation was given as to why exactly the Taiwanese company would reportedly make such a move, though yesterday’s leaks might give us an indication as to what direction HTC is headed instead.

A report originating in Japan has leaked the specification of a future HTC smartphone, referred to as the M8 Prime, and if the information is accurate, it’s shaping up to be a real powerhouse. In 2013, HTC released three different versions of its One flagship phone. The standard HTC One, alongside the One Mini and the One Max. We’re expecting a One Mini 2 to be announced soon, so could the M8 Prime turn out to be the One Max 2?

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The headline feature is all set to be a 5.5-inch touchscreen with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, according to the source, which would take the phone beyond the One M8’s 1080p. However, a 5.5-inch screen on the M8 Prime would make it 0.4-inches smaller than the One Max.

It seems 1440p screen resolutions are going to be the hot ticket for the second half of 2014. The M8 Prime would be in direct competition with the soon-to-be-announced LG G3 for example. Also, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 could feature a high-res screen, and the company is rumored be working on another 1440p phone known as the Galaxy S5 Prime.

New Duo Camera, plus a Snapdragon 805 chip

Moving on from the screen tech, HTC may upgrade the camera too. Apparently, it’ll be another Duo Camera setup to reproduce the Bokeh effect, just like the One M8. However, the UltraPixel lens could be increased to 5-megapixels. The source also talks about an 18-megapixel camera, but it’s not clear how this will fit into the phone.

The final notable spec was the possible inclusion of the Snapdragon 805 processor, which is expected to be found in various devices towards the end of the year. Other listed features include 3GB of RAM, and a rather feeble 16GB of internal memory, but there’s no mention of the fingerprint sensor which made the One Max unique in HTC’s range.

The source states the phone will be announced sometime around September this year, which not only fits in with the Snapdragon 805’s expected availability, but with the One Max’s one-year anniversary too.

Former Senior Mobile Writer

Andy has written about mobile technology for almost a decade. From 2G to 5G and smartphone to smartwatch, Andy knows tech.

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