HTC One Mini August Launch Plans Leak Again

HTC's One mini will hit shelves by August, it's again claimed, with fresh sources confirming the 4.3-inch "M4" variant on the original HTC One. The smaller smartphone is on track for a summer release window, two insiders apparently briefed on HTC's plans whispered to Bloomberg, as the company continues to rebuild its Android business in the face of Samsung's segment dominance.

It's not the first time we've heard chatter of a summer release for the HTC One mini, though HTC itself still refuses to comment publicly on the rumored phone. According to previous leaks, the smartphone will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dualcore processor – half the cores of the HTC One – and a 720p HD display, lower than the 4.7-inch 1080p panel used in the original phone.

However, some features are expected to be carried over. The BoomSound audio technology, for instance, which mounts stereo speakers on the front of the phone with wider audio range, and the 2GB of RAM. HTC is also expected to include Bluetooth 4.0, and in fact a device believed to be the HTC One mini was spotted passing through Bluetooth SIG certification earlier this month.

Also expected to carry across is the UltraPixel camera system, which sees HTC step off the megapixel escalator and instead focus on capturing more light using a smaller number of larger pixels. HTC pairs that with a custom photography app that captures "Zoe" shots, clusters of burst photos and brief video clips that can be automatically edited together into thirty second highlight reels, complete with background music, transitions, and filters.

HTC's hope, it's believed, is that building on the successful reception of the One with a more affordable, smaller version will help buoy its revenues. The company has seen two months of progressive growth, but has also lost a number of high-profile executives along the way.

That, CEO Peter Chou has argued, is par for the course when a company is restructuring. HTC has a "narrowed focus" the chief executive claims, and it's one which is paying dividends he points out, even if HTC is still at the start of that turnaround.

Expected to assist later this year are a number of tablets, marking HTC's return to the segment it struggled to compete in with the Flyer and Jetstream. Although HTC is believed to have shelved plans for a 12-inch tablet running Windows RT, after getting cold feet because of the platform's lukewarm reception, it's still expected to release a roughly 7-inch RT slate along with an Android-based counterpart.