The One A9 will be a brazen copy of the iPhone

HTC's One M9 is still one of the better Android smartphones currently available, yet sales for the device have not been meeting expectations in the face of growing Chinese competitors like Xiaomi and the brute marketing forces of Samsung and Apple. HTC's downward spiral is unfortunate to say the least as the industrial design for the One M8 and M9 has been met with nothing but universal praise.

Now thanks to numerous leaks leading to the official announcement, it is becoming very likely that the One A9 will mimic the design of the Apple iPhone. The horizontal aluminum strips on the back and edges, for example, are unmistakably of Apple influence. Even its front Home button looks similar to the fingerprint sensor on the OnePlus 2. The move will certainly get HTC the headlines and coverage it has been looking for.

A Taiwanese report from CEO and President of HTC Cher Wang has gone so far as to seemingly confirm that the company is deliberately pursuing an iPhone-like design. The source claims that Wang had sent out an internal message to HTC employees stating that the upcoming One A9 has been designed to be a good alternative to the Apple iPhone. The CEO calls it a "balance between beauty, power, and simplicity".

The online launch #BeBrilliant will very likely unveil the One A9 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow pre-loaded. The device is expected to cost around 600 Euros as previously reported, which would make it more affordable than many of its competitors like the Galaxy S6 Edge+ or iPhone 6S, though more expensive than the OnePlus 2 and roughly comparable to the Huawei Mate S.

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