From its heydey as a true Android innovator, HTC has struggled of late in the face of stiff competition, primarily from the goliath Samsung in terms of sales, but also from a resurgent Motorola and some pretty sweet Nexus handsets. Its last handset, the excellent HTC One A9, did impress us though and so we’re hoping that the next flagship device will continue in that vein.
For the time being we’re calling that handset the HTC One M10 but that’s really for want of a better name. The first HTC One was the M7 (for reasons we’re not entirely clear on), that was followed by the One M8 and One M9. This naming convention always felt like a bit of an afterthought and it has been rumoured that HTC will be dropping it for the new handset. We’re really not that bothered about the phone’s name of course, but it’s unlikely the company would produce another M8/M9 look-a-like with a brand new moniker.
Release date
HTC usually releases its flagship handsets in March or April of each year. This is around the same time we’re expecting the new Samsung Galaxy S7 as well, so at least you should be able to compare the two handsets fairly quickly before deciding which one to plump for.
Specifications
HTC has long used Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets in its handsets and we can’t see that changing for the M10 - especially as the promising-looking Snapdragon 820 looks set to rear its head just in time for the M10’s traditional launch slot.
The new chipset is the first to be manufactured using a power efficient 14nm process, something that should boost the battery life of the handset. There’s a new Krio 64-bit processor, which promises to provide lots of power while remaining cool. The downside though is that any phone using a new manufacturing process is at risk of delays of stock shortages should the fabrication process of the new chips not give the yields expected.
The chipset also features better 3D performance thanks to a new Adreno 530 GPU, a faster modem chip for quicker (theoretical) mobile connections, better camera image processing (with improved noise reduction) and a new audio processor for better surround sound virtualisation. For more information read our coverage of the Snapdragon 820 launch event.
Screen resolution
The last HTC One used a Full HD (1,920x1,080) display, which was quickly made to look at bit old hat by the 2,560x1,440 displays in competitor's handsets. Given the screen szie though we’re really not too fussed by the resolution jump, with Full HD providing plenty of detail for our eyes.
More excitingly, the HTC One A9 returned to using an AMOLED screen rather than an LCD. This provides improved blacks and better power efficiency, there were problems with colour accuracy on some displays but these seem to have been ironed out of late. We’re hoping that the A9 shows the way forward and HTC moves back to AMOLED entirely.
Camera
HTC has been having a bit of a yo-yo problems with its cameras of late. On the HTC M8 it bravely took the stance that 4-megapixels were all you needed and having bigger pixels was the best way to defeat noise, an opinion that entirely makes sense on paper if you’re just uploading to the web. That didn’t seem to work out for it though, with the M9 going the other way with a 20-megapixel sensor from Toshiba.
We’re hoping that the new handset simply goes for something in the middle and chooses the best sensor, usually a backlit Sony chip, for the job rather than worrying about having a marketable difference or high number of pixels. A good 12-megapixel sensor looks to be the sweet spot for providing detail without undue noise.
^ We liked the 13-megapixel camera in the HTC A9
Design
WIth no leaks to date, we’ve little to go on when it comes to the M10’s design, but there are a few issues that are worth discussing. The first is that the design may well be based upon the HTC A9, which let’s admit it looks an awful lot like the current iPhone with its metal chassis, flat back and rounded edges (though you could say that HTC got there first with a lot of these). We’d like the new handset to look like the A9 but something new and radical might be in order if the name is to change.
Whatever the design, it looks an almost certainty that a fingerprint scanner will have to be integrated. The A9 put this below the screen, despite it still using onscreen buttons in the main, which felt a little clumsy. We’d rather keep the use of onscreen buttons and move the sensor elsewhere on the handset, say the edge (as on the Sony Xperia Z5) or the back (as on the Nexus 5X).
Another concern is whether HTC continues with its front-mounted Boomsound stereo speakers. We’re big fans of these from an audio point of view, but it could be argued they make the handset larger. HTC concentrated on improving headphone audio in the A9 and that looks likely to continue in this handset, relegating front-facing speakers to tablets such as the HTC-made Nexus 9.
Price
With the HTC A9 keeping the all-metal design and high price point of the M-series phones, we can’t see a new flagship handset coming in at much less than the usual £550 with £35-40 per month contract prices. With the all-metal Google Nexus 6P coming in at just £440 SIM-free with top-end specifications, the price of other flagship phones is looking hard to justify but we doubt that will change the behaviour of consumers who simply want the handset with little to pay upfront.
We’ll be updating the HTC One M10 rumours as we get more leaks and information closer to release.
