HTC One 2: Release Date, Specs, Price, Rumours - Everything You Need To Know

Our guide to all the rumours, news and speculation surrounding the HTC One 2 - also known as the HTC M8 - which is expected to feature a slightly larger screen, more powerful processor, and an updated Sense user interface.

Expected Key Features:

5in, full-HD screen

Aluminium construction

Snapdragon 800 processor with 3GB RAM

Sense 6.0

February/March 2014 release date

Introduction:

The HTC One was one of our favourite smartphones of 2013, impressing us with its superb HD screen and premium aluminium construction, but the Taiwanese faced stiff competition from Apple, Samsung and Nokia, limiting One sales to less than they might otherwise have been.

HTC also wasn't helped by its balance sheets, which recorded a financial loss for the first time as a public company; but all was not lost, and the One Mini and One Mac soon followed in the original's aluminum footprints

For 2014 HTC is expected to replace its flagship with a device currently known as M8 - and also referred to as the HTC One 2.

HTC One 2: Design

While Samsung stuck with glossy, cheap-feeling plastic for its Galaxy S4, HTC followed Apple and opted for aluminium with the One. The result was a beautifully stylish smartphone with a design that was both industrial and comfortable, thanks to a slight curve across its back.

We're expecting much of the same for the One 2, and if a set of recently leaked photographs are anything to go by, then that's exactly what we'll get. The photos show what is claimed to be the rear panel of the HTC One 2, and apart from the blue colour (presumably owing to this being an early prototype), the device looks remarkably similar to the original One.

Photos allegedly showing the HTC One 2. (ePrice)

The photographed rear cover appears to wrap neatly around the phone, suggesting the One's successor will do away with the plastic edges of the original, while it also looks to be slightly thinner than the One.

There's a mysterious hole at the top of the leaked cover, circular in shape and above where the camera lens will be. No one has yet said what this hole is for, and while we know HTC included a fingerprint scanner on the back of the One Max, locating this awkwardly above the One 2's camera would be a strange move.

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited update will be the inclusion of a microSD card slot to expand the phone's storage. The feature was sadly missing from the original One, so hopefully HTC has learnt its lesson and included it with the One 2 - and some fans, as always, will demand a removeable battery too. Neither of these have yet been confirmed or denied by what we've seen so far.

HTC One 2: Screen

Esteemed smartphone leaker EvLeaks claims the HTC One 2 will have a 5in screen, slightly larger than the original's 4.7in panel, which was one of the best in the business.

If 2013 was the year in which full HD became commonplace on high end smartphones, 2014 will be the year of 2K screen resolutions - at least that's what the Samsung Galaxy S5 is rumoured to be bringing to the party.

HTC, on the other hand, will be sticking with regular HD for now, again according to the Twitter account of EvLeaks.

HTC One 2: Processor

Also according to EvLeaks, the HTC One 2 will see its processor upgraded to the Snapdragon 800, as seen in the Galaxy S4 and other high-end rivals.

This claim is backed up by Taiwanese website ePrice, which states the processor will be joined bye 3GB of RAM and HTC's yet-to-be-announced Sense 6.0 user interface, adding the company's own spin to Android 4.3 KitKat.

HTC One 2: Camera

HTC broke the smartphone mould with the One and its Ultra Pixel sensor. Rated at just four megapixels, the camera's party trick was its ability to shoot better low-light photos thanks to larger pixels - a trick since adopted by Apple and the iPhone 5s.

We're yet to see anything of the One 2's camera, but will be sure to report back when the inevitable leaks start to appear.

HTC One 2: Price

At around £450 SIM-free, the HTC One is, when you take into account its 32GB of storage, £200 cheaper than the iPhone 5s. If HTC can keep the One 2 below £500 - again, for at least 32GB of storage - it will represent excellent value for money, especially if the rumours of a larger screen and improved processor ring true.

HTC One 2: Release Date

Court documents published during HTC's patent infringement trial against Nokia state: "HTC is close to launching the successor flagship to the HTC One...the launch date is in the first quarter of 2014, and possibly as early as February 2014."

This would be a year after the original One arrived, and coincides neatly with the Mobile World Congress trade show, where most of the major smartphone makers descend on Barcelona to reveal what they have in store for the year ahead.

As if this wasn't enough, EvLeaks tweeted to say an HTC handset will be available in the US by the "end of Q1 '14."

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