htc-one-m9-plus-aurora

HTC has taken the wraps off its latest HTC One smartphone. The One M9+ Aurora edition was announced in China and comes with a few welcome improvements to the original HTC One M9. Chief among the new features is the new, revamped 21MP camera with built-in optical image stabilization and laser-guided autofocus. It also includes phase detection autofocus to further enhance the camera's focus.

This is HTC's first device with three methods of focus, dubbed 3-in-1 fusion focus. Sadly, it's only going to be available in Taiwan, but we're told we should still be expecting another announcement from HTC later today. Could it be a GPE edition HTC phone for western markets? HTC's senior PR man, Jeff Gordon, teased us on Twitter with the following:

Other specs of the M9+ Aurora Edition include:

  • 5.2-inch QHD display
  • 2.2GHz Helio X10 octa-core processor
  • 3GB RAM
  • 32GB storage (expandable to 2TB via microSD)
  • Ultrapixel front camera
  • BoomSound speakers with Dolby Audio
  • 4G LTE and W-Fi a/b/g/n/ac
  • 2,840mAh battery
  • Android Lollipop with Sense UI 7

The Aurora Edition costs approximately $630 and comes in gold, silver, black and grey. From the spec sheet alone, it seems this is the phone the One M9 always should have been. Let's just hope the announcement later today features something just as promising.