Remember when we all complained that 5-inch devices were too big? Get ready for a wave of 6-inch devices. Sony has already kicked things off with the gigantic Xperia Z Ultra – arguably closer to a tablet than a phone – and Samsung is expected to announce the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 next month in Berlin. But what about HTC? The Taiwanese company may be cooking up a large device of its own in the guise of the HTC One Max.
We first heard about the engorged HTC One back in May, when @evleaks designated the device as the HTC T6. The handset was said to include a 5.9-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and the UltraPixel camera made famous on HTC’s 2013 flagship. A 3,300mAh battery is said to power the unit, with HTC apparently also working on a 1,250mAh juice pack to accompany the device.
Then, in July, O2 Germany revealed the potential moniker for the device – the HTC One Max . It’s a simple name, but at least there won’t be any room for confusion when people look over HTC’s lineup for the year.
Fans of the One’s design will be pleased to see it carried across to the One Max too. Leaked pictures from ePrice earlier this month gave the world a clear look at the Max compared to a 4-inch device. While the handset retains the aluminium chassis of the One, it looks like some elements have been tweaked in the process. The dual speakers, for instance, are longer on the Max, and the chamfered metal rim around the edge of the device has been swapped out in favour of a plastic edge not unlike the One Mini.
Still, there is a mysterious addition on the side of the device. What looks to be a toggle can be found on the upper left edge of the handset. Could it be a volume toggle similar to the iPhone and iPad? A switch that can be customised to perform different actions? In all honesty, it’s anyone’s guess.
Twitter user extraordinaire @evleaks then posted a “non-final” render of the One Max to Google+, showing that all too familiar design with some very minor tweaks. As @evleaks warned, though, it’s not finished – the proximity sensors are missing from the front of the device, and the weather widget is showing an extremely old date too. HTC’s Jeff Gordon also called out the render, saying that it was fake.
Most recently, ePrice has revealed more photos of the One Max that show a removable backplate. This looks to be a local version for the Chinese market, with room for dual SIM cards and what appears to be a possible fingerprint scanner. That seems to be backed up by the presence of a fingerprint icon in the notifications panel as well. Still, we expect this to be a localised version of the handset – don’t expect a removable cover or two SIM card slots on the Western model.
We have a good idea of the exact size thanks to a new comparison too. Pictures from Chinese social network Sina Weibo (via PhoneArena) show the One Max next to Samsung’s line of Galaxy Notes. HTC’s device is most definitely bigger thanks to a larger display and those dual speakers, but the width looks to be roughly the same.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the Chinese equivalent of the FCC has great photos of the One Max from multiple angles. Unsurprsingly, the design matches the various leaks we’ve seen so far, but there are some notable changes. It looks like the rumoured fingerprint scanner will definitely make it to the final version of the handset, and the physical buttons are different from the One Mini.
The power button, for instance, has been moved from the top ot the right hand side of the phone, and the volume controls are one distinct rocker instead of two seperate buttons. Still, they look to be plastic, just like the One Mini’s buttons.
So when exactly will we see the One Max? Samsung and Sony have already released their large screen devices, the Galaxy Note 3 and Xperia Z Ultra. HTC would be wise to push the One Max out sooner rather than later, but the only thing we know for sure is that it’s coming in the fourth quarter. Ben Ho, HTC’s Chief Marketing Officer, recently hinted that the company will be releasing “a variant” of the One series during that period.
A post on Chinese social networking site Sino Weibo, meanwhile, claims that the One Max will launch on October 15th. Android Central believes that’s the correct date too, so we may just see an official announcement in the next few weeks.
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