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The One A9. According to rumors, the One M10 would be designed as a more premium iteration of the device, prompting speculations that the upcoming device could also look like an iPhone at first glance.

While it is being circulated that the next flagship smartphone from HTC is a new take on the One M series, recent speculations suggest that the upcoming One M10 might resemble another popular flagship iteration instead.

According to Techno Buffalo, a new leak from Evan Blass mentioned the upcoming One M10 will be a premium version of the One A9. While Blass did directly indicate it, his tweet said, "If you like the A9, you'll love the M10."

The post gave the impression that in terms of design and form factor, the One M10 has some ideas that connects it to the One A9.

The industry follower said that while this might not be such a bad thing, HTC's upcoming flagship greatly resembling one of its current lineup iteration would mean that HTC will again be branded as a "copycat."

When the One A9 was launched late last year, the Taiwan-based company was alleged to have copied the design and body of Apple's iPhone products, particularly the iPhone 4s. The allegations even prompted HTC to clear the issue.

HTC North Asia president Jack Tong stated, "We're not copying. We made a uni-body metal-clad phone in 2013. It's Apple that copies us in terms of the antenna design on the back."

Meanwhile, should the One M10 be much like the One A9 on the outside, the internals will definitely get an upgrade. As the One M10 is touted to be the upcoming premium flagship for HTC, observers note that the tech specs under its hood will be top-tier.

According to Pocket-Lint, recent leaks about the One M10 place the upcoming premium flagship to be featuring a 5.1-inch AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution and a 12-MP UltraPixel resolution camera on the back. It is also rumored that the new product will be carrying a Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4 GB of RAM.