Possibly the worst-kept secret in the world of smartphones is HTC’s big-screen variant of the HTC One.
Dubbed the HTC One Max, the 6-inch device will join the HTC One (4.7 inches) and the HTC One Mini (4.3 inches). Engadget is saying that the One Max will launch in China on 15 October, and the blog has received an invite for a Hong Kong-based launch on 16 October.
The One Max is rumoured to have a fingerprint scanner, although it’s unclear what applications this would have, and what technology would be used for the biometric scanning.
HTC is reportedly struggling in the current smartphone market, recently posting its first ever quarterly loss.
Asymco analyst Horace Dediu has even predicted that HTC may be sold off as early as 2015. Dediu suggested that the company will have around two years in its “post-trauma life expectancy” — a term he uses to describe company’s inability to recover after it starts generating negative operating margins.