HTC One Max May Go iPhone 5s’ Way And Sport A Fingerprint Scanner On Its Back

HTC Corp.’s (TPE:2498) upcoming smartphone, the rumored HTC One Max, may be influenced by Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) move to incorporate a biometric fingerprint scanner into the iPhone 5s, and may feature a similar component on its back, new reports said.

According to a report from The Verge, a set of photos of what is claimed to be the HTC One Max were posted on Chinese social network Sina Weibo. The photos also showed the bigger successor to the HTC One with the back of its case removed.

The photos revealed that the purported fingerprint scanner is located between the handset’s SIM card slot and the rear camera. Based on the placement of the component, the report said that unlike iPhone 5s’ fingerprint scanner, which reads thumbprints, users of the HTC One Max would scan their forefingers.

An anonymous Verizon employee, who claims to have used the HTC One Max during training sessions, is said to have confirmed the existence of the fingerprint scanner. The unidentified employee sent some pictures of the device to one of his friends, who posted them on Android Central’s forum.

This is not the first time that pictures of an alleged HTC One Max have appeared with a fingerprint scanner. In September, photos of the device surfaced on Weibo, featuring a square-sized component on its back, which was deduced by many as a fingerprint scanner.

According to rumors, the HTC One Max could be powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and it may feature a 5.9-inch 1080p display, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB and 64GB internal storage options. The device is also rumored to have MicroSD support and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with the updated HTC Sense 5.5 UI.

Recent rumors have indicated that the handset could be launched on Oct. 15.