5.5-Inch HTC One (M8) Prime with Ceramic Chassis Rumored to Launch in September

Will the 5-inch HTC One (M8) get a bigger sibling this September?

Samsung is not the only phone maker to be releasing an improved version of its current flagship smartphone; it is rumored that HTC also has plans to launch a higher-end model of the One (M8) later this year.

According to @evleaks, the device is known by the codename, HTC One (M8) Prime. One of the key features of the phone is the use of " an exotic material, a composite of aluminum and liquid silicone." It is reportedly cheaper than aluminum, but provides a high degree of durability and is much easier to manufacture.

@evleaks claims that the One (M8) Prime will be the HTC's first waterproof flagship. It is also the company's first device "with a planned Cat. 6 LTE radio", thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor which comes with the 4th generation Gobi MDM9x35 LTE modem that supports download speeds of up to 300Mbps. Current Android flagship smartphones typically support Cat 4 LTE speeds of up to 150Mbps.

The One (M8) Prime is alleged to come with a 5.5-inch QHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) display, 3GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, microSD card slot and an improved 5-megapixel UltraPixel rear camera sensor. The secondary rear camera is said to sport an 18-megapixel sensor for capturing depth information.

HTC is expected to make an official announcement on the One (M8) Prime in September. In the same month, Apple is likely to launch its bigger iPhones and Samsung will unveil its successor to the Galaxy Note 3.

Sources: evleaks (1) (2) (3) (4) (5), HTC Soku via Phandroid, Hi-tech.mail.ru via GSMArena