HTC is preparing to take on Samsung at the game it invented in 2011 with the Galaxy Note; huge Android smartphones, or ‘phablets’ as they’re affectionately known by some.
The Taiwanese company has a larger version of its current flagship HTC One phone in the works, a phone we know as the HTC One Max. We’ve spotted a couple of leaked pictures of the phone as well as rumoured features and technical specifications, but today we’ve been treated to our clearest view of the supersized phone to date, along with a detailed specification list.
An image posted recently on Chinese social site Weibo shows what is believed to be the HTC One Max in the hand of a commuter, out in the wild for the very first time. With a rumoured screen size of 5.9-inches we already expected the phone to be big but from the picture above we can see for the first time just how huge it really is.
A list of specifications shown off by the reliable Nowhereelse.fr confirm that the display will indeed be 5.9-inches in size and will match Samsung’s latest Note 3 in offering a sharp Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. This makes HTC’s forthcoming phablet a match for the Galaxy Note 3 in the display department, but with the Taiwanese company opting to go for the same unibody aluminium build as the One, the One Max will be considerably heavier than the Note 3. The recently revealed spec sheet suggests that the One Max will weigh in at a staggering 217g, which blows the 168g Galaxy Note 3 out of the water. We thought the 185g Nokia Lumia 920 was heavy – if you’re already betting on buying the One Max we’d recommend getting in some wrist strengthening exercises right now.
Asides from being a giant Android phone, the One Max is likely to emulate the iPhone 5S by offering a fingerprint scanner. Previous images of the phone which have crept online depict a clear square sensor located on the back, just below the rear camera, though it’s not yet clear exactly what this will be used for in terms of features.
Elsewhere on the spec sheet it looks as though HTC will again use the excellent UltraPixel rear camera and 2MP front facing snapper on its third One phone of the year, so we’ve no complaints in the imaging department whatsoever.
Power will be provided by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chip clocked at 1.7GHz, which is still fast but disappointingly isn’t the latest and fastest Snapdragon 800 chip which tends to be clocked at a cool 2GHz plus. There’s also said to be 2GB of RAM and 16, 32 and 64GB storage options, without a micro SD card slot for expansion.
With the HTC One now receiving the Android Jelly Bean 4.3 update around the world, it makes sense that HTC will be launching the One Max with Google’s latest OS pre-loaded. 4.3 will be paired up with Sense 5.5 and finally there’s a hefty 3,300 mAh battery to power the show.
Invites have already gone out for a HTC event on October 15th in the Far East, with another event said to be planned for the 16th for the rest of the world. Is the One Max a good idea or should HTC be leaving the phablet market to Samsung?