Evleaks reveals render showing off One M9 in two sizes, with improved aesthetics

With HTCset to unveil its next flagship in March, we’re already hearing quite a few rumors on what to expect from the One (M9). In addition to talk of specs, there have also been several leaked images that have hit the web, initially leading us to believe that the One (M9) would end up looking very similar to its predecessor. For those that were hoping that the images pointing to a near-identical One would prove false, the good news is that several publications and leakers are now suggesting that these images were early production units.

A new leaked image from the semi-retired Evleaks has now surfaced giving us a better look at what the M9 may actually look like:

The new render shows off two phones, one said to be the standard M9 and the other a larger model (rumored as the Hima Ultra). As you can see, while the two phones still bring typical HTC design language to the table, they are far from just M8 clones. The smaller model has finally done away with the dreaded HTC-logo black bar, giving us a much smaller black bar and moving the logo down further. The “Plus” model isn’t just a blown up M8 either, while it does have a HTC-logo black bar it also integrates a home button and other refinements. If you looks closely you can also see that both models have small, sleek front-facing speaker setups.

What’s interesting about the home button on the plus-sized M9 is that a previous rumor had shown off a blurry image of an HTCdevice with such a setup, which reportedly packed a fingerprint scanner. Considering HTChas switched to on-screen keys for most of its recent devices, we’d say the addition of the fingerprint reader is one of the few logical reasons why HTCwould bring back the home button. With more flagship devices offering fingerprint readers, we aren’t surprised to see HTCfollowing suite with their larger model HTCOne M9.

Starting with the One (M7) style and aesthetics have been a very big part of the HTCexperience, and even though we were starting to believe that the M9 would simply rehash the same old design language — we’re glad to see that this may not be the case after all. It goes without saying that we can’t confirm the validity of the above renders, though @evleaks track record for accuracy is one of the highest in the industry. If the images prove correct, what do you think of the HTCOne M9’s (and Plus/Max M9’s) new look?