HTC’s M8 Ace is the plastic version of the One 2014, could cost $220 less

HTC’s One M8 is already a bit cheaper than Samsung’s Galaxy S5 in certain locations, but that apparently isn’t enough for the Taiwanese OEM as it plans to unveil a plastic version of its flagship under the M8 Ace branding. The smartphone will directly compete with the Galaxy S5 and offer similar high-end features. However, it will carry an even lower price tag.

This isn’t the first time we’re seeing HTC design a plastic flagship device. The butterfly series was created for this very same purpose, but it looks like the company plans to keep things under its M8 brand. Nevertheless, a new Butterfly model is already in the works according to a previous leak. The HTC M8 Ace was initially leaked by EvLeaks who provided a pretty blurred-out image of the smartphone.

Now, Engadget is reporting citing Chinese website TMTpost that the M8 Ace will have the same features found on the One flagship. The handset will have a polycarbonate unibody form factor and carry a 5-inch 1080p display on the front. The rear will sport the dual camera setup like the original, but the processing power will come from a faster CPU, a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 (the same one in the Galaxy S5 LTE), instead of a 2.3GHz chipset.

The report also highlights that the HTC M8 Ace will retail for around CN¥3,000 which amounts to approximately US$480. This makes the plastic version around $220 cheaper than the original.

Here are the specs of the HTC One M8:

– 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 SOC
– 2GB RAM
– 5-inch 1080p LCD
– 16GB/32GB storage options
– UltraPixel rear camera
– 5MP front webcam
– 2600mAh battery