HTC M7 leaked ahead of 2013 hero phone’s launch

Many think that 2013 could be a make-or-break year for HTC, and the company is reportedly betting big on this year’s hero device — the HTC M7. It will assume the brand leadership role filled last year by the One X (and later the One X Plus) and Droid DNA, and there’s no doubt that the M7 will be positioned to do battle with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5 (or iPhone 5S, should Apple unveil one).

A freshly-leaked render that’s making the rounds may give some clues as to what the HTC M7 will look like when it goes on sale. The front face takes a bit of inspiration from the One X, but with the dotted speaker grill now mirrored on the bottom. Missing from the M7′s face are the capacitive buttons — a big design change, since even the two-month-old Droid DNA hadn’t left them behind. While capacitive buttons are out, the IR blaster is back in, which seems to indicate that HTC thinks that some consumers will appreciate being able to use their $600-plus smartphone as a high-tech universal remote control right out of the box.

It’s easy to look at the One X and proclaim it an iPhone 5 knockoff, but it seems clear enough that it’s an evolutionary step that followed the One X+ and Droid DNA. It’s also highly likely that this render doesn’t represent the final design, so HTC may have some bold accents or other tweaks it plans to make before reveal day.

While this is the first glimpse of anything remotely official in terms of physical appearance, potential specs for the HTC M7 have surfaced before. It’s rumored to feature a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.7GHz, and a 4.7-inch 1080P HD display. As for cameras, it looks like HTC will match the Sony Xperia L by building in a 13MP rear shooter. HTC is also thought to be prepping the M7 to launch on multiple carriers — unlike the One X which was an AT&T exclusive. To gain ground against Samsung and Apple, HTC needs the M7 to be instantly recognizable and available on as many networks as possible.

The M7 should be on display at Mobile World Congress next month, at which point we’ll see whether the render and specs line up with reality.