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HTC

HTC was the original Android phone maker. Information technology manufactured the starting time retail Android device, the T-Mobile G1, every bit well equally the prototype devices Google used to develop the platform. Later on a solid run, the last few years haven't been especially kind to HTC. After reportedly disastrous operation for the HTC I M9, the Taiwanese company is rumored to exist planning a vastly different flagship phone for early 2016 called the HTC O2 — the "One" name is apparently gone.

We're still months out from any official announcement of HTC'due south 2015 Flagship device, but the details nosotros're hearing sound very plausible. The O2 will reportedly have a Snapdragon 820 system-on-a-chip (SoC), replacing the embattled Snapdragon 810 in the 1 M9. This chip has run hot in all the phones that run information technology, but the M9 in particular suffered from astringent thermal throttling that hurt operation.

The Snapdragon 820 volition take a completely different compages consisting of four custom 64-bit ARM cores (probably called Hydra) designed by Qualcomm. That's what the company has traditionally used in its SoCs, but the 810 runs reference Cortex ARM cores in an octa-cadre configuration. The custom solution simply wasn't ready in fourth dimension. The device volition also reportedly have 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 128GB of storage, and a 3500mAh battery.

snapdragon-h1

Rumors also point to a QHD (2560×1440) screen, which would exist a footstep up from the M9'due south 1080p. A 1440p screen might not be necessary strictly speaking, in that location are situations where information technology can expect ameliorate than a 1080p screen. And shipping a 1080p LCD for the third year in a row made HTC wait like it equally lagging behind other OEMs anyway. The resolution bump is necessary in 2016.

The HTC O2 (or whatever they phone call information technology) will exist running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but that's not much of a surprise. Whatever flagship phone released in 2016 will be running the latest version of Android. Software hasn't actually been HTC'southward trouble lately, though. It'southward all nearly that boring hardware.

The M9 nether-performed largely because it looked and felt similar the same phone HTC made in 2014. The design was only slightly changed from the M8 to the M9, and many of the specs stayed the same. To turn things around in 2016, the O2 ought to shake up the design — we know HTC is capable of making bully hardware and the M7, M8, and M9 are all very well-made. The camera as well needs some serious attending, and that'southward not mentioned in the leaks. The M9'southward 20MP photographic camera was atrocious .

HTC recently saw its market cap drop subsequently another in a series of disappointing quarterly reports. The company is now valued lower than the value of the cash it holds, which does not usually finish well. HTC does still take almost $1.v billion on-paw, which should become it through some other production wheel to make the O2 a reality.