The HTC Aero smartphone, rumored to be released later this year, will be shipped out as the HTC One A9 instead. This rebranding could be HTC's attempt to make up for the lackluster sales of the current One A9.

According to Taipei Times, HTC CEO, Cher Wang, announced last June that the company is developing a "hero" device that may be considered competition for the iPhone 6S. Wang had announced that the product would launch by October and would include significant improvements, making it worthy of a flagship title.

As of now, there are not a lot of details to go by. However, there have been a few leaks that have provided a significant amount of information.

Recently, leaked photos from Weibo showed the HTC One A9 alongside an iPhone 6. The two devices look very similar. However, instead of concluding that HTC is blatantly copying the Cupertino-based company, it should be noted that the iPhone does bear similarities with previous HTC releases, One M7 and One M8.

The HTC Aero or One A9 will reportedly be a high-end device and will sport a premium look. The device will be thin and have a full metal body. It is also said to come in two colors, gold and dark grey.

The yet-to-be announced smartphone will feature a 5.5-inch Quad HD display with a 1440 x 2560 screen resolution. It will also feature a 2.5D curved glass display, protected by a Gorilla Glass 4 panel.

The device's rumored processor is what most consumers are excited about. It has been revealed that the device may be powered by a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor and 4 GB of RAM.

If the rumors are to be believed, then the HTC flagship will be one of the first smartphones to have a deca-core Helio X20 processor.

HTC is also said to be developing a very impressive new camera for this device. The rear camera may come with an f/1.9 aperture, allowing users to take high quality photos even under low lighting. The rear camera will also be able to support RAW photos.

The HTC One A9 will also possibly come with the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

HTC may opt to launch the device sometime in October or November, which is consistent with their previous product launches. However, given that the Helio X20 CPU will enter production in November, the HTC One A9 may not be shipped out until early next year.

HTC's high-end device is rumored to carry a price tag of about $500 to $600.

Hopefully, more details about the potential flagship device will be announced in the coming weeks, ahead of HTC's rumored official announcement.