Rumor: HTC to release a “Butterfly 2” in Q4 (Note: This isn’t the Butterfly S, this is new)

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 13 Jun 2013

According to the analysts over at IDC, HTC just did something semi-amazing. They passed Samsung in terms of smartphone unit sales. Where? In Japan, a country where less than seven million smartphones were sold in Q1 2013.

But that’s not what I want to talk about today. At the very bottom of that Focus Taiwan article that discusses HTC’s success in the land of the rising sun, there’s this little nugget of information:

“To capitalize on its success in the large-screen phone market, HTC said it plans to launch the refreshed Butterfly S in Taiwan June 19, while the market anticipates another upgraded model, to be called Butterfly 2, to be available in the fourth quarter.”

Yes, you read that right, there’s going to be a Butterfly 2 coming out this year, and it’ll be out after HTC starts shipping the Butterfly S. What exactly will HTC put inside this new Butterfly? I can think of a few things. One, a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 800. Two, a larger screen (5.5 inch 1080p?). Three, a better camera. Four, Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie installed out of the box. Five, a larger battery.

I could go on, but I’ll stop.