The smartphone wars sure have been interesting this year, and while HTC impressed with its metal-bodied One, it never quite managed to fill the pockets of those who like something bigger. Until now, that is.
Designed with the same logic as both the HTC One and HTC One Mini, the HTC One Max is pretty much what the name suggests: a maxi-increase to the formula that HTC has been trying with its flagship phones this year.
The screen size jumps up a full inch from its flagship brother, bringing the size to 5.9 inches and yet still supporting the Full HD 1080p picture.
Interestingly, HTC hasn’t decided to go the full hog with speed and processor selection, sticking with the Snapdragon 600 quad-core chip, which is what sits in the LG G Pad, and is less than the processor choice used in both the LG G2 and Sony Xperia Z1.
That said, the screen is massive, and the 16GB storage can be upgraded with a microSD slot, something we wished both the HTC One and One Mini supported, plus there’s a 3300mAh battery suggesting a day of life should be possible for this big phone.
“We’re excited to announce that the latest addition to the HTC One family in the form of HTC One max is now available in Australia,” said Garry McGregor, Sales Director for HTC in Australia and New Zealand.
“We now have an HTC One phone for everyone. Similar to our flagship product, the HTC One, this device offers the most amazing mobile experience yet, with more screen size and more features.”
There are some differences between the range, as some things are missing, while some have been added. For instance, the One Max shares the same Boom Sound speakers we’ve been seeing all year, Ultrapixel camera, as well as the Zoe camera application, and 4G speeds, but it misses out on Beats Audio technology.
You could say in its place, however, is a fingerprint scanner, a first for an HTC phone, with the ability to unlock your phone by using the fingerprint scanner on the back, as well as launching up to three apps based on the finger you use.
Availability for the One Max should be from next week, with an outright price of $816 RRP, though it will be available on several plans.
