The HTC Ones were headed into double digits for the next generation after this year’s One M9, and the company has apparently decided to put an end to its confusing naming scheme. If the newly surfaced reports out of China are to be trusted, the next flagship from the struggling Taiwanese manufacturer will be named simply HTC O2.
Now, that may not be the wisest decision for the UK market, where carrier O2 might have a say on the matter. The rest of the world, however, should have no problems embracing the new name, which is also reported to deliver a proper hardware upgrade, unlike the current generation flagship.
The latest info states that the O2 will sport a 6-inch QHD display, and will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset. This is where the rumor becomes contradicting, as we already know that piece of silicon is expected to make it to mass-produced devices no earlier than the beginning of next year, while the O2 is said to be arriving as early as the end of October.
The rest of the rumored O2 specs include 4GB of RAM, 64GB/128GB of built-in storage and a 3,500mAh battery. More importantly, the smartphone is said to be environmentally sealed for water and dust protection, which would be a first for HTC. All of that sounds like a dream specsheet one could conjure up, and not necessarily what HTC has on the drawing board, but we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Another O2 model is claimed to be scheduled for next year, a 5-inch version with yet unannounced Snapdragon 82x chipset. However, the mention of a 4K resolution on such a diagonal stretches our skepticism straight to disbelief.
Now that HTC’s upcoming flagships have started to surface in rumors, we’ll undoubtedly be hearing more in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.