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Samsung already announced their big reveal date for their upcoming flagship during next week’s Mobile World Congress. And where Samsung has been doing a bang-up job at keeping the Galaxy S5 behind their curtain, rival OEM HTC hasn’t been so lucky.
We’ve been waiting for an official word on when HTC plans to reveal their big follow-up to the HTC One — the HTC M8 — but in the meantime, the device has been making numerous appearances in leaks. Although, we’ll admit, a good majority of were likely fakes/hoaxes, this latest leak’s authenticity is pretty much undeniable.
What you’re looking at are some purported images captured of the HTC M8 in the wild, allegedly take by a Google+ user. You’ll notice the device appears very similar to appearance to the most recent leak giving us a clear view of the front, only now we have a clear look at the back. You’ll notice the device has much more curved corners, and what appears to be a slightly polished, more metallic finish than the current HTC One (M7). We know not everyone is going to agree with this new move, but if it provides for better grip, we’ll adjust.
Some users on Reddit seem convinced that this could in fact be the HTC M8 Mini given the size of the speaker holes and skinnier aspect ratio but it’s tough to tell. Of course, we’ll need further confirmation but when holding our current HTC One in the same manner as the pics, reveals a phone that’s largely the same size (this M8 appears to be slightly taller).
If you needed further confirmation that the above images are real, HTC evangelist, Shen Ye, was able to vouch for them, also confirming a single detail about the upcoming HTC M8: the device’s rumored micro SD card slot. Now that’s some change many Android users could get used to.
What do you guys think about this latest leak? Have it set in your heart that the HTC M8 will be your next smartphone, or are you holding off judgment until we see what Samsung unveils?
[via NowhereElse]
I’d get the M8 if it can address the problem of the so-so camera the M7, and possibly a bigger battery (cause why not?).
What makes you call the camera “so-so”? I haven’t noticed any major differences between all the latest phones’ cameras. They all seem the same to me.
It mainly suffers from a lack of “ultra-pixels”… As a owner of an H1, I can honestly say that the front camera is very bad (grainy, low quality), and the back 4 “U.Pixel” camera doesn’t provide sharp images. However night shots are as best as it comes on a phone.
Which is why I called it a so-so camera.
Not sure where or how youve been using the camera, but the images are sharp on mine. Perhaps youre not touching the screen to focus ? FFCs are always low quality, a direct result of it only being a 2MP camera.
Yes I have been, still not as sharp as other cameras (S4 for example) for day shots.
Well my wife has the S4 and its proven to be very disappointing to her as a regular shooter. Blurry, unfocused shots consistently.
Don’t like the polished look very much. But the HTC One was the best phone on the market for a long time. I don’t think this one will disappoint.
I like that they’re going with charcoal instead of white for the plastic bands.
Yeah, mine got all stained last time around :/
Im diggin the Robocop silver, but I dont like the look of the top speaker area
It’s all about the bootloader for me
And all about the Google Play edition for me :)
Supreme control over a mobile device you’ve spent good money on is the most reasonable thing in the world.
Looks like a pack of cigarettes from the future.
It’s not tobacco. HTC THC.
Hate the metallic silver
I actually like it . it looks militant…
Its more of a brushed look, not metallic.
Looks like another fail!
I don’t like that its corners are curvier… The really just need to stick to the M7’s design and give it a larger screen.
Not with that horrid bezel that the HTC logo sits on. Sad that they added that simply for advertising space.
Its not so much advertising space as it is extra room to cram hardware. Smaller phone + higher specs= greater design and production cost. They build it as big as they can get away with because the higher profit margin.
Wasted bezel, No removable battery, probably same camera …. Still a FAIL.
and what exactly is wrong with the camera ?
My wife has the htc one and the battery lasts all day no problem, without constant use, and some mapping & gps navigation. All without charging. You don’t *need* a removable battery on this guy.
I have the HTC one I can go two day on a full battery charge with a normal use.
It’s all about options my man. Not everybody is a light user like your wife.
Precisely the reason why HTC is in the predicament they’re in now. No options.
My wife also has the HTC One and she likes it too, but then again she’s not a power user like me.
I thought what I described was pretty active. No, she isn’t playing 3D shooters like Modern Combat on it, but is using gps navigation without a charger, which will kill most phones fairly quickly was my point.
If you need a removable battery get a Galaxy S*. An option that I pine for is removable storage.
Not really, Maps get cached nowadays so the drain isn’t as bad as it used to be. My phone is a Note 3 and I still like to have a removable battery because I work outside and use my phone a lot. Not really interested in HTC devices until they go back to their original formula with SD cards and removable batteries.
The maps/data don’t drain it, but the GPS and the screen not sleeping do. I’ve used a Note 3, and it’s nice, but it doesn’t fit in most pockets. Do you have it clipped to your belt? (I assume so, because of your work).
The only people I know that have it keep it in their purses :-P
Sometimes I clip it but it fits in most my pants OK. On the occasion it doesn’t, I just roll with the iPhone 5s on that day.
agreed on wasted beze, but updated camera… and you could always bring a portable charger with you… pretty much the same thing as a secondary battery.
An SD card? Ugh, why are we going backwards?
You call an SD slot backwards? If you don’t want to use it, don’t use it. It’s still a very versatile option for people who need to take lots of data on the go. Not everyone has unlimited, super fast data speeds.
That’s just it. It’s not versatile, it’s very limited. And manufacturers ALWAYS make you choose between SD storage, and a large amount of internal storage. (yes, even HTC). I’d gladly pay for a 64GB phone, but they are quite rare, because since most manufacturers give you an SD card they say you don’t need any more than 8 or 16 gigs of storage. If I’m buying a superphone I don’t want to be worrying about running out of space or moving files back and forth to removable storage.
And for the record my plan gives me 1GB data a month. I want internal storage so I can use LESS data, by keeping more things local
How is a SD card slot limited? Someone needs to add 8GB more, they can buy an 8GB microsd card. They need 16GB? They can buy 16; 32, 64, etc. How is that “limited”?
While there is no argument that onboard storage is faster than sd storage, for most people the speed of class 10 microsd is more than sufficient to store their videos, pictures, music, etc. Apps can admittedly suffer, depending on the individual app. But you’re ignoring the fact that manufacturers often don’t make higher onboard memory because of the cost, not because of the lack of demand. Onboard memory costs a hell of a lot more than it does to add a microsd slot (usually it’s more of a space issue than cost when they chose not to include it).
And “for the record”, I’d likely buy a 64GB onboard memory version of the phone but that does not necessarily fit in the budget of most (people who would buy it probably make up less than 10% of total says, if even that much). MicroSD keeps things affordable for those on a budget. So complain about the lack of a 64GB onboard version versus telling people that microSD is “backwards” and they should not have the option of having it.
An SD card for a phone is what an external hard drive is for a laptop. There’s really no debate to be had. Some people need more space, and some don’t. Some people transfer massive data, and some don’t.
I personally would like the added space for HD video I record on the phone, mp3s, movies, tv shows, console & arcade roms, etc. There are lots of kinds of data that do not benefit from the decreased latency of on-board storage. Also, plugging an sdxc card into a computer transfers much faster than the phone via USB 2 or wifi.
This phone can be potentially longer than the HTC One. Meaning it’ll be impossible for me to text in landscape. =.[
Eh…? I hope it’s not ridiculously long. =.S
And what’s with that back? That looks like a metal bar.
Um…? Let’s see what happens.
impossible to text in landscape? you must have the hands of an 8 year old.
More like the hands of an 8 month old, lol.
It’s not… impossible, but it’s kinda uncomfortable to text in landscape on the HTC One. I can just reach the middle keys. Any longer and I won’t be able to. =.[
Are you saying that my hands are below average in size? Because I can just barely reach the middle keys in landscaping texting on the HTC One. Hmm…
yeah something like that lol
Well then…
Reminds me of a trash can. lol
Can’t unsee :(
Apple is offended you neglected them.
Not once have I owned a apple product and never will. Just stating that it looks like a trash can. Have a problem with that?
I was only making a joke =/
Your joke was trash. =.P
That front pic doesn’t seem like it’s legit.
Because you dont like it ?
Well honestly no, I don’t like it but also from the front it doesn’t look like a unibody design. Around the edges of the speaker grill looks like separate pieces so I would guess it’s the M8 Mini. To add, with how the overall device is proportioned, it seems like a smaller device than what the m8 should be.
Where’s the fingerprint scanner? While it may not be a must have feature you definitely don’t want to be the mainstream flagship without one especially if Samsung puts one on its phone. Its better to be future proofed. I mean you already have the technology on your One Max why not bring it to the One²?
Kinda a weird shape, but I’m waiting for camera performance to give a final verdict.
I don’t hate it, but the metallic finish isn’t for me. My favorite part of the HTC One was the matte black finish. It looked absolutely gorgeous. Now if the camera wasn’t absolutely awful, it would have been a killer phone.
Are we sure that is dual cameras? I’m leaning towards a fingerprint scanner.
I sure hope htc didn’t spend money on a finger print scanner.
I don’t think this is flagship model! I think this is the new mid range model they will be launching together with M8!