One M9 Windows Phone release date, rumors, specs: HTC and Microsoft collaborating on Windows Phone version of flagship device

(Reuters)

Since last year, both HTC and Microsoft have been rumored to be jointly working towards launching a Windows Phone version of the One M9 flagship. At a press event during the recent Computex 2015, Microsoft had put up a big slide displaying the names of all its Windows 10 hardware partners, which also included Taiwanese company HTC. This has further fuelled rumors that HTC is waiting for the launch of Windows 10 Mobile in order to launch a Windows Phone version of its One M9 flagship.

During Microsoft's keynote at Computex, the company made a presentation listing its upcoming Windows 10 partners, including Intel, Dell, IBM, Samsung, LG, BLU Products, and most surprisingly HTC. Samsung was featured in the list because the company manufactures Windows computers, while LG was also on the list because it had recently released a Windows Phone handset named the LG Lancet.

But what surprised everyone was the inclusion of HTC in Microsoft's list of Windows 10 hardware partners. HTC had previously released a Windows Phone variant of the One M8, but has stated that it does not have any further plans of once again entering the Windows Phone market. HTC One M8 is among the OEM devices that have been confirmed to receive a Windows 10 upgrade, which has been officially confirmed to be released on July 29.

Even more interestingly, the updated version of the Windows Phone Recovery Tool, now at 2.0.3, shows the addition of support for HTC Windows Phones. This means that users of HTC Windows Phones will soon be able to get a first look at Windows 10 Mobile. But the updated recovery also hints that Microsoft could provide a build of Windows 10 Mobile to support HTC in the very next release. Just last month, Microsoft had come out with an upgrade path that offered Windows 10 Mobile to HTC One (M8) owners across the world, running Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 (GDR2).

Both HTC and Microsoft have not made any announcement about a Windows Phone version of the One M9 flagship, but with Windows 10 set to be officially released on July 29, there could be more news about the HTC Windows Phone coming in.

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