Rumor: The HTC One Mini and HTC Butterfly S

It was bound to happen. Just after we finally receive official word about the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini some juicy goss rolls in about HTC working on its own pint-sized powerhouse: the HTC One Mini. Interestingly enough, the rumors also extend to an up-sized HTC One/Butterfly variant being referred to as the HTC Butterfly S.

The HTC One Mini

Previously rumored as the M4, the HTC One Mini is a believable enough concept. Slimmed-down versions of flagships are rarely news-makers, but they invariably turn a profit with minimum marketing expenditure. If the Galaxy S4 Mini is anything to go by, and we think it is, the One Mini probably won’t be as small as the name may imply. More likely it’ll be a solid mid-range device with around a 4.2 or, according to GSM Arena, a 4.3 inch display with 720p resolution. We also expect a dual-core CPU, between 1.5GB and 2GB of RAM and the HTC One’s signature Ultrapixel approach to camera design.

The HTC Butterfly S

If the HTC Butterfly S is an up-sized HTC One like we’ve heard, why isn’t it called the HTC One Mega, HTC Big One or some other such similarly-themed nonsense? Obviously the Butterfly S is intended to be an upgraded HTC Butterfly. This is still confusing, as the HTC One name already has most of its marketing done for it while the HTC Butterfly has languished in obscurity. From what we’re hearing the Butterfly S will sport similar specs to the HTC One in terms of power. It’ll have a 5 inch 1080p display, rock Sense 5.0, BlinkFeed and possibly even add a MicroSD slot to the mix. The word also says a unibody aluminum design and Ultrapixel camera. Apart from BoomSound and the MicroSD slot, it just sounds like a bigger HTC One. Far be it from us to question the twisted mess that is HTC’s naming scheme, but we’re rooting for the Big One. It just feels more fitting.

Availability and Likelihood

The One Mini is almost a guaranteed device. It’s bound to make money for HTC and will compete directly with its biggest competitor: Samsung. The Butterfly S makes sense, but it mightn’t be enough for HTC to bother. If a 5 inch display and MicroSD slot are all that the Butterfly S would bring to the table then it’s not necessarily going to be worth it for HTC. The name also has us feeling tentative, so we’ll see how this story plays out before we raise our hopes. The One Mini is expected sometime around mid-July. It’ll probably be priced similarly to the Galaxy S4 Mini when it arrives. The Butterfly S has no expected release date.