Nowadays, almost every phone maker has tried to copy Samsung's strategy one way or another. That is to come up with several versions of a single smartphone.
For instance, just for the Galaxy S flagship, the Korean brand has included a rugged version (Active), a camera centric device (K-Zoom), a slightly smaller edition (mini), and others.
While HTC has already unveiled its 'mini' flagship last year, it looks like the Taiwan-based company is still planning to release another affordable edition of the One M8.
According to the report by GSM Arena, rumor has it that HTC will develop a midrange version of its current flagship, and will be named One M8i.The Android smartphone will reportedly look like the One M8.
In addition, while the One M8i looks like the flagship, it only has midrange specs. Some alleged specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset, which is also referred to as MSM8939. The device reportedly has an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor, wherein four of its cores are clocked at 1.7 GHz, while the rest run at 1 GHz.
The possible release date is still unknown at this point, but Android and HTC fans can be sure that the Taiwanese manufacturer will be following up its Desire 820 midranger with a series of midrangers and budget handsets as well.
Last year, some reports claim that while the One M8 is a solid flagship phone, most of HTC's revenue came from its midrangers. In fact, some variations of the M8 such as the One E8, the One mini 2 and the Butterfly were seen as better alternatives than the original.
Most experts claim that the company's last two flagships have failed expectations due to their lackluster camera specs. The 4MP UltraPixel sensors were promising when they were first introduced, but they did not impress users.
As for the One M8i, HTC will reportedly provide a capable 'conventional' camera just like what it did with the One EYE.
