New design details bring the HTC One M9/Hima further into focus

Earlier today, leaked images of the upcoming HTC One (M9) gave us our first look at HTC’s upcoming flagship smartphone. We’re always excited to see what new HTC devices will look like, but were underwhelmed. Save for the squircle camera lens on the back, the device portrayed in the leaked images looks identical to last year’s HTC One (M8).

With the leaked images of the HTC One (M9) in the wild, a trusted source who has seen HTC’s upcoming flagship smartphone reached out to us to fill in a few details which are not visible in the images shared earlier today. Our source can confirm that the device he has seen does look very similar to last year’s One (M8), confirming the squircle camera lens on the back as shown in today’s leaked pictures. But there are a few tweaks:

1. The HTC One (M9) is slightly thicker than the One (M8)
2. The rear camera is not accompanied by a DuoCamera depth sensor
3. Volume controls have been split from a single volume rocker button to two individual buttons
4. The power button has moved from the top of the phone to the right side, placed below the volume buttons

While some may question why HTC isn’t planning a radically new design of the HTC One (M9), there’s a lot of precedent to the move. Apple is notorious for reusing the design of its smartphones for two years and let’s not forget that the HTC One (M8) did win quite a few design awards in 2014.

Then again, the HTC One (M9)’s that are currently being tested in the wild could be decoys. HTC managed to trick us with decoys of the HTC One (M7) back in 2013. Multiple leaks of the device showed replacement parts, renderings, and working test units which didn’t resemble the final version of the HTC One (M7). Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing if the HTC One (M9) test units in circulation accurately reflect what the final product will look like. We love the design of the HTC One (M8), but we’re really hoping the One (M9) has a look all of its own.