HTC One 2 Release Date Approaches: HTC M8 Rumors Heat Up As Specs, Pictures Leak

Do you have trouble keeping a secret? Apparently, so does HTC.

The rumored HTC One 2 or HTC M8 may have leaked online in the form of a model used by accessory manufacturers, following a release date leak earlier this month, while charges are being brought against HTC designers who may have sold company secrets to competitors.

The upcoming flagship is rumored to be named the HTC One 2 or HTC M8, and while still unannounced by the Taiwanese manufacturer, a U.K. judge earlier this month may have leaked the release date as set for February or March of 2014.

The HTC One 2 or M8 purportedly appears as a wax model in a pair of images released on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo. If the images are truly to-scale versions of the HTC One 2 or M8, they showcase a body design extremely similar to the original with a larger screen — likely around 5 inches, up from the 4.7-inch screen on the HTC One.

HTC One 2 specs are rumored to include a 5-inch screen in full HD (1920 x 1080) with a 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and 2GB of RAM, running Android 4.4 KitKat. Take these rumored specs with a grain a salt as, by the time its February or March release date arrives, the HTC One 2 could ship with completely different hardware.

The purportedly leaked HTC One 2 mockups do not feature the fingerprint scanner found, and sometimes criticized, on the HTC One Max. The HTC One 2 looks like it could pick up the dual-LED flash, like whats found on the iPhone 5S. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) says the pairing of amber and white LEDs allows for more natural color balance in photos using flash.

The HTC One 2 will likely see a release date shortly following a potential unveiling of the flagship at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) beginning on February 24 in Barcelona, based on the timeframe mentioned by a U.K. judge in HTC’s court battle with Nokia (NYSE:NOK).

Are these HTC One 2 rumored mockups and specs exciting, or do you think the phone will be an incremental update? Let us know in the comments below.

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