Say hello to HTC’s One M9 and One M9 Plus

Meet HTC's latest flagships. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android.

Meet HTC’s latest flagships. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android.

HTC may have been working hard to keep its upcoming flagship a secret ahead of its official unveiling, but the leaks continue to come. A new photo published by an incredibly reliable source confirms the design of the One M9 and the One M9 Plus for the first time.

The photo — which was published by Evan Blass, who’s better known as @evleaks — isn’t very big, unfortunately, but it’s not too difficult to make out the improvements and changes HTC has made for its latest smartphones.

Of course, the alterations to the One M9 Plus are far more significant, but both look like worthy upgrades.

The One M9 and One M9 Plus. Photo: Evan Blass

The One M9 and One M9 Plus. Photo: Evan Blass

As recent rumors have confirmed, the front-facing camera on both One M9 handsets is centered above the display — much like the front-facing camera on the Desire Eye. The screen also occupies more of the front of the device, with the bezels around it now much narrower.

On the regular One M9, the HTC logo has been repositioned and the large black bar that many users didn’t like on the One M7 and the One M8 has been removed — as expected. On the One M9 Plus, however, it’s in the same place, but the black bar is a lot smaller.

The One M9 Plus also has a physical home button, which looks a lot like those on Samsung’s devices. But it’s not just a regular home button; it will have an integrated fingerprint scanner, much like the iPhone’s, that’ll allow you to unlock your device and compatible apps.

You’ll also notice that the holes HTC drilled into the front of its last two One series devices to accommodate the BoomSound speakers have been replaced by much more subtle speaker grilles on the top and bottom edges of the device.

HTC has long been associated with pretty smartphones, and it seems the One M9 and the One M9 Plus will again demonstrate just how talented its design team is. Yes, there are going to be complaints about the latter’s physical home button, but those who want a fingerprint scanner will surely embrace it.