Alongside the upcoming HTC One M9 smartphone, codenamed Hima, HTC is rumoured to be readying a phabletversion known as the HTC One M9 Plus or HTC One M9 Ultra. Here we round up all the HTC One M9 Plus UK release date, price and spec rumours. Also see: HTC One M9 Hima UK release date, price and specs rumours.
The original leak referred to this upcoming handset as an HTC Hima Ace Plus, and that confused us somewhat.Aceand Plus/Maxversions of the HTC One M8 were also rumoured last year, as cheaper and premium versions of the handset respectively, but all we got was the HTC One E8, a plastic version of the phone at a reduced price. Could the HTC Hima Ace Plus simply be the result of those two rumours mashed together with a little dash of hopefulness? Also see: Best smartphones 2015, best new phones 2015 and best phablets 2015.
HTC One M9 Plus / HTC One M9 Ultra / HTC One M9 Prime: UK release date, price
Nothing has yet been confirmed regarding a UK release date and price for the HTC One M9 Plus, so we're speculating here based on past events and will update this article once concrete information is available.
While the HTC One M8 went on sale in the UK at the end of March, the One E8 wasn't available until the beginning of September 2014. Right now it costs £330 at Amazon, while the One M8 commands around £380 at Amazon.
Of course, neither phone was available at this price at launch. While we reckon HTC could stick to the March/September availability for the One M9 and Plus versions respectively (and that falls in line with the original rumour), pricing will be higher - around £500 for the HTC One M9. However, if this is a plastic version of the flagship, it should be around 30 percent cheaper. If it really is a premium version of the smartphone it will be more expensive.
HTC One M9 Plus / HTC One M9 Ultra / HTC One M9 Prime: specs
Here's why we're confused: in an Ace version of the HTC One M9 we'd expect to see a plastic shell, a lower spec and a lower price; in a Plus, Prime or Ultra version we might expect the same metal unibody design, a larger screen, and a higher price.
So for now we are merely rounding up the rumours, as reported by 4G News, and they are that there will be an HTC Hima Ace Plus, and it will have a 5.5in edge-to-edge Quad-HD screen with front-facing BoomSound speakers. Under this panel will be a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core 810 chip with Adreno 430 graphics and 3GB of RAM, pus 32GB of storage. At the rear of the phone there is a 20Mp camera, and at the front a 4Mp Ultrapixel model. A 3000mAh battery will keep it all going. HTC Sense 7.0 will be installed alongside Android Lollipop.
@Upleaks has since claimed that an Ultra or Plus version of the One M9 will also have a fingerprint scanner.
We'll keep all the HTC Hima rumours coming as they arise.
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