HTC’s next big smartphone will offer up a fingerprint sensor like the iPhone 5s, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting, and will be unveiled on October 15. Separately, invites have been sent out to journalists from HTC Taiwan, pegging October 18 as the date for a special event in Kaohsiung, which is being promoted with a couple of sentences that hint at a fingerprint sensor and possibly improved BoomSound stereo speakers.
The One Max is said to sport a 5.9-inch display, but otherwise be similar in design and features to the HTC One, the Taiwanese company’s flagship device. The metal-backed Android smartphone has been well-received by reviewers and press, but hasn’t done too much to turn around HTC’s ailing financial picture.
WSJ’s sources couldn’t comment on how the fingerprint sensor in the HTC One Max will be used, so it’s unclear whether it would serve phone unlocking and purchase authorizing purposes like those found on the Apple iPhone 5s. It will actually sit between the Max’s SIM card slot and the smartphone’s camera, according to leaked pictures, which would make it accessible to fingers resting on the back of the device instead of on the front.
We’ve separately heard evidence to suggest that HTC is indeed planning a reveal of a device likely to be the HTC One Max next week, so it’s fairly safe to take that as fact at this point. Can a phablet design for its flagship save the day for HTC? Probably not all on its own, but with metal case components and a fingerprint scanner, the company will be Apple’s closest analog on the Android side of the fence, at least when it comes to hardware.