If you were disappointed by past HTC smartphones, the upcoming HTC flagship might just be the one that you’ve been waiting for. As usual, we have seen a variety of leaks of the possible One M9 successor from various sources before the official announcement of the device along with some possible specs. The phone, simply dubbed the ‘HTC 10’, may come with a new design and with more features packed into it, according to the leaks. If what we know so far is anything to go by, this may really just be the One you’ve been waiting for.
What you’ll find below is a list of rumors, leaks, speculation, images, and other stuff that pertains to the HTC 10 (A.K.A HTC One M10). We’ve done our best to gather up the juiciest stuff floating around, even if it conflicts with other reports. Unless otherwise noted, this is all to be considered unofficial and unconfirmed.
Note: this post will be updated continually until such time that the device is announced by HTC.
UPDATE 29 MARCH:
We have seen whole spectrum of even more teasers and leaks running up to the launch, including from HTC itself:
Not all phones are created equal. The fastest and smoothest Android. You’ll feel it. #powerof10 pic.twitter.com/1F42fJB7Lz
— HTC (@htc) March 29, 2016
As suspected, the flagship sports a fingerprint scanner button like the A9. The capacitive app drawer and back button flanks it
What’s of more interest to us is this screenshot originating from the HTC 10. The GFXBench app blows the top on pretty much the entire phone spec sheet.
HTC further claims that the 10 will Be ‘The Smoothest And Fastest Android Phone’ in the same above Tweet.
It’s starting to feel like an official device announcement is no longer necessary with all these tidbits coming out.
Summary
- No BoomSound speakers: Confirmed by the image teaser
- Top notch specs: Confirmed
- ”The Smoothest And Fastest Android Phone’
- Official announcement on April 12
Design and Internal Specs
Summary:
- Snapdragon 820
- 4GB RAM
- 11MP Rear Camera
- Fingerprint scanner
- HTC A9 inspired design
- 5.1″ screen, 144X2560
The above image is a render based on leaks from @OnLeaks‘s Twitter account. We’d typically take the images with a grain of salt and not base our assumptions on them, but there’s a problem with doing that now: all the leaks this far reveal the exact same phone. Taking this into consideration, there’s a good chance that what we are seeing is really the final product, the HTC 10 (although we can’t be absolutely certain).
The first thing that catches my attention is the lack of the BoomSound speakers we have seen on previous iterations. While it was certainly nice to have the speakers on the bottom and top bezels of the front side, we weren’t quite sure if it was worth it if it meant having huge bezels. This tradeoff resulted in a relatively large phone for a five-inch screen. Perhaps it’d be to the benefit of HTC if did they removed these speakers.
Second thing that catches my attention is the home button. The HTC A9 came with a similar design and along with a fingerprint scanner. It’d be safe to expect the same on the 10, hopefully the scanner will work reasonably well.
The rest of the body itself has minor revisions and changes as compared to past flagships, and we quite like how it looks this time around.
Specs wise, we have’t heard much. It is, however, almost certain that we can look forward to some pretty decent hardware packed inside. For the CPU, we expect to see none other then the Snapdragon 820 powering the device. 4GB of RAM is also likely to be present with at least 32GB of storage, with or without a MicroSD slot. The 5.15″ screen is expected to have a 1440X2560 display.
The 12MP rear camera should be a decent upgrade over HTC’s previous gimmicky UltraPixel shooters that we didn’t particularly like. There are rumoured to be several neat features to come with the phone as well, like the earpiece which is used a forward facing speaker and IP67 waterproofing.
Certainly seems like a worthy contender, but until the actual announcement takes place, we can only make educated assumptions.
Launch & Release Date
Summary:
- Available for purchase on the 19th April 2016
- Typical launch period for HTC flagships
Not quite sure where this date come from, but speculation is that the release date is going to be on the 19th April 2016, at least in some countries. We expect the actual announcement to be a few weeks before (which could be very soon).
This launch period would also continue the tradition of HTC launching its flagship at the end of the first quarter like it has every year so far.
We will update this page as the announcement date nears.
No BoomSound speakers?
Jason, you are wrong. There is nothing wrong with bezels. What everyone seems to forget is that a successful successor device needs to have all the great technology available in the market that can be packaged together. The reason the M9 didn’t do well is because it ran hot initially, the camera was poor, and had no Image Stabilization, and it did NOT have a biometric reader of some type that is needed for future secure commerce transactions.
Note though that any company that removes a great feature like front-facing STEREO speakers from an existing product on its next iteration has engineers with mushy brains. If this ends up being true, then it’s likely that the “Perfume” phone will be another weak seller, like its predecessor. Even Samsung brought back a microSD slot on the Galaxy S7. There are NO good reasons to remove the stereo speakers. Right? One keeps improving, not removing good stuff. Time will soon tell us how mushy those brains are. The Galaxy S7 Edge is the way to go till some company can create a follow up flagship device with FF stereo speakers.
If smartphone users think that stereo speakers should not be part of their multi-media experience when using the device, then they should ask themselves, “would they buy a TV without stereo speakers – like it was in the 70s – great mono sound?” If the smartphone plays back HD video, then the smartphone should play back stereo sound. It just makes sense. Of course, both large and small multi-media smart devices should also have jacks for earplugs or headphones when privacy is required. This just makes sense too. Right?
I also watch youTube videos on my M9. I hold up my phone and watch different types of clips with it, while I’m lying down. Those FF stereo speakers make a huge difference. I can watch John Oliver (Last Week Tonight) clips in HD, and the stereo sound is awesome. My next portable computer (which will just happen to make phone calls as well) MUST have stereo sound (without accessories), and if HTC does not offer it in a few years, then I’ll be buying someone else’s smart multimedia personal assistant device.
Boomsound is just some hardware and software inside the device (and more importantly it’s a marketing term). It has nothing to do with where sound exits the device. In my opinion, the engineers had it right, when they designed the exits so that the direction of the sound hits my face, and a stereo effect is achieved by having the sound exit from both sides of the screen when one holds it in landscape mode, as if you are watching a small LED flat screen TV.
LightStruk stated: I have a One M8, and I bought it specifically for the loud, front-facing, stereo speakers. I use those speakers every day! I can watch videos without cupping my hand around the bottom bezel like you have to with an iPhone, and the stereo separation is obvious. I can turn my phone around and show some friends what I’m watching, and they don’t have to alternate between pointing the speaker at their ear and watching the video. I put it on my kitchen counter and listen to podcasts as I cook. I turn on music and sit it on the table while playing with my toddler. The sound that comes out is actually tolerable!
So, I believe Stereo FF speakers are just as necessary as a colour display.
Yes, yes, and TRIPLE Yes!!! I agree with you 100%! I’m on an M8, and the front facing stereo speakers are the reason I’m here! It is insane to leave them out of the 10! HTC has gotten such a kicking in the marketplace that they are facing an existential crisis of sorts: They don’t know who they are anymore, or what features people actually like. So they’re willing to try ANYTHING to have a phone that’s successful. Even abandoning their signature feature. The 10 sounds like a fine phone, specs-wise, but I can’t see it making a significant dent, particularly without that key, differentiating feature. I guess I’ll just stay with my M8 until it dies.
The new Nexus that apparently will be built by HTC should have all the specs that we want including the FF stereo speakers, so hang on until that device is released.
That is a genuinely exciting prospect! I like just about everything about the Nexus 6P, except that its Maximum Brightness leaves much to be desired (outdoor visibility in direct sunlight is an important factor for me). I recently did a Factory Reset on my M8 (it was running like crap for a while there), so now she’s running smooth again. It might be easier now to wait for the new Nexus. Looking forward to that!