HTC One (M8) mini and octa-core Desire 616 tipped to launch soon

HTC may not have officially revealed plans for a new mini-variant of the flagship 2014 smartphone, the One (M8), but a new report points to the possible existence of such a smartphone. In addition HTC's first rumoured octa-core smartphone, believed to be dubbed Desire 616, has been spotted again in China.

A publication citing a UK online retailer has claimed that HTC plans to launch the mini version of the One (M8), rumoured to be dubbed One (M8) mini in May.

Further, the source has suggested that the One (M8) mini will sport a premium unibody design like its elder sibling, though it will feature a 4.5-inch display. As of now, there is no word whether the alleged One (M8) mini will boast a full-HD display or HD display. The source has also claimed that the HTC One (M8)'s dual camera setup will be replaced with a single camera setup for the mini-version. For those unaware, the highlight of the HTC One (M8) is the dual camera setup that puts an UltraPixel camera alongside a depth-sensing camera that lets user's do things like refocussing images after they've been clicked. However, other features of the One (M8) mini are yet to be revealed.

(Also see: HTC One (M8) review: A worthy upgrade)

The HTC Desire 616, on the other hand, which is said to be Taiwanese handset maker's first octa-core smartphone, is tipped to be priced at CNY 1,299 (Rs. 12,500 approximately without taxes). Phone Arena in areport claims that HTC might launch the Desire 616 in April; however there is no official word on the global rollout of the yet-to-be-announced smartphone.

The alleged Desire 616 (Desire 616w) is said to be made out of plastic, instead of the metal body seen on the HTC One (M8). According to earlier leaked specifications, the alleged Desire 616 sports a 5-inch HD display and will run dated Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The rumoured Desire 616, if real, will be Taiwanese giant's first octa-core smartphone. It is said to be powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek processor (presumably the MT6592) alongside 1GB of RAM.

Other leaked specifications include an 8-megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash; measures 142x71.9x9.1mm and weighs 150 grams. The alleged Desire 616 is likely to be available in five colour variants namely Black, Blue, Red, White and Yellow.

HTC One (M8) 'High Performance Mode' benchmark-boosting confirmed

We have been hearing reports that handset manufacturers optimise their phones to perform better in benchmarks than real world usage, and Samsung was famous embroiled in such a controversy for its Galaxy S4 flagship.

However it seems HTC considers this as a potential feature rather than 'cheating' or 'fixing'. HTC, on being asked about suspected benchmark rigging, said that its latest One (M8) flagship features a 'High Performance Mode', which detects a benchmark app and produces the best possible performance.

(Also see: Apple iPhone 5s vs. Sony Xperia Z2 vs. Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One (M8))

On Friday, a report raised benchmark rigging suspicions on HTC One (M8)'s impressive performance on AnTuTu benchmark tests that had floored other mobile heavyweights like Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and LG G Pro 2. The report then cited AnTuTu X (a special edition of the benchmark to prevent fraud and cheating) results of the One (M8), results that were significantly different from the device's original AnTuTu scores.

(Also see: HTC One (M8) vs. HTC One)

Following up, CNET's Eric Mack tried to get answers from the Taiwanese handset maker. The company responded:

"Thanks for your email about the HTC One (M8). Benchmarking tests look to determine maximum performance of the CPU and GPU and, similar to the engine in a high-performance sports car, our engineers optimize in certain scenarios to produce the best possible performance. If someone would like to get around this benchmarking optimization there are ways to do so, but we think most often this will not be the case.

For those with a need for speed, we've provided a simple way to unleash this power by introducing a new High Performance Mode in the developer settings that can be enabled and disabled manually. The HTC One (M8) is optimized to provide the best balance of performance and battery life, but we believe in offering customer choice, as there may be times when the desire for performance outweighs the need for battery longevity."

HTC also revealed that the 'High Performance Mode' feature is currently not available in the One (M8) US model, but admitted that it will be rolled out in upcoming software update.

Earlier, Samsung was caught rigging the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 to artificially boost benchmark scores.

(Also see: HTC One (M8) India launch in April; compatible with country's 4G LTE networks)

HTC unveiled its One (M8) after months of leaks, at an event in New York in March. The One (M8) runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat with the company's brand new Sense 6 UI on top, which HTC calls the biggest upgrade since Sense debuted. The phone is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, alongside 2GB of RAM. The HTC One (M8) comes with a 5-inch full-HD display and will be available in 16GB and 32GB storage options, with support for expandable storage via microSD card (up to 128GB).

HTC One (M8)

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

5.00-inch

Processor

2.3GHz

Front Camera

5-megapixel

Resolution

1080x1920 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 4.4.2

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

4-Ultrapixel

Battery capacity

2600mAh