Images of “Hima,” or HTC One M9, Allegedly Leaked

In the run-up to the launch of the HTC One M8, a whole slew of leaked images and specs hit the web, essentially spoiling the surprise well before the official reveal. This year, we know that HTC will be bringing a new flagship smartphone (likely the One M9, alternately codenamed “Hima”) to the MWC in Barcelona this March. But with a little over a month to go until then, it seems images of that phone have made their way online. Are these the real deal?

Originally posted on French tech blog NowhereElse.fr (and now removed at the source’s request), the images have popped up on various tech sites since their initial appearance. AndroidCentral has them, as does 9to5Google, and as you can see, the phone being depicted looks a whole lot like last year’s One M8 in terms of design.

One of the most interesting features of last year’s flagship, however, is missing: the dual rear camera that got so many people buzzing in anticipation of the M8’s reveal. While that feature ultimately didn’t set the world on fire, it was one of the M8’s most-liked details. That it’s gone from this new flagship seems to indicate that HTC has decided two rear cameras isn’t worth the expense – or perhaps this new camera has even more tricks up its sleeve.

We can also tell that the device has the now-standard dual speakers on the front. Is this once again the presence of HTC’s “boom sound”? Which, when you think of it, is a totally silly name? I’m sure it is. It’s a bit disappointing that this phone seems to share so much design DNA with its predecessor, but I don’t doubt that HTC has a lot of bells and whistles under the hood that’ll set it apart.

We’ll know for sure when HTC pulls back the curtain at MWC this coming March. Until then, we’ll have to content ourselves with these images – which may not even be real, of course – and idle speculation about what kinds of goodies we’ll see in this latest high-end Android handset.

[Sources: AndroidCentral, 9to5Google, NowhereElse.fr]