HTC may have a cheaper, plastic, phablet-sized version of its One M9 flagship on the way. A new image leak coming out of China shows what appears to be the One E9 in all its glory.
The photo, which was released by @upleaks earlier today, shows the device from several angles, revealing traits like a glossy back made of plastic and an unusually large camera lens. Similar to the M9, the new device is said to have no fingerprint scanning capability.
HTC E9p(A55) pic.twitter.com/NuPXL8oQAK
— @upleaks (@upleaks) March 25, 2015
The phone was first revealed in a filing with Chinese telecommunications regulator Tenaa a few weeks ago. The earlier leak detailed some specs, revealing the high-end components that are packed inside of the device’s plastic chassis. According to the Tenaa filing, the device has a 5.5-inch display with Quad HD resolution, a 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6795 chipset, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. It is also expected to run on Android 5.0 Lollipop and have a 20-megapixel rear camera paired with a 4-megapixel front camera.
During Mobile World Congress earlier this month, HTC President of the Americas Jason Mckenzie teased an announcement in mid-to-late March. Mckenzie expressed a desire to create a unique niche in the high-end smartphone market against its bigger competitors, something that it may attempt with the One E9, or with the rumored One M9+, which does appear to have a fingerprint sensor.
“We have a huge announcement in middle to late March around extreme differentiation with Samsung and the iPhone. It solves key pain points,” Mckenzie told Business Insider.
In fact, HTC just announced and April 8 event on the Chinese social media site Sina Weibo. It remains unclear whether the One E9 will ever be sold in the U.S. once it’s out. The device is said to be set for launch in China as early as next week for an estimated price of $480.
