HTC may be launching the One M8 for Windows

HTC One M8
We're starting to wonder if HTC knows there's more than one thing you can call a phone

As if HTC's naming conventions for its flagships weren't already awkward enough it looks like it might now be launching a flagship Windows Phone handset with the same name as its Android one.

More specifically we might soon be getting an 'HTC One M8 for Windows,' which is a bit of a mouthful.

We first caught wind of this clunkily named number from @evleaks, which reported a little while ago that HTC was working on a Windows Phone handset complete with BoomSound and Duo cameras.

That certainly sounds One M8-ish, but back then it was going by a 'HTC W8' code name, a name which we hope it returns to.

It wasn't clear whether this would be a Windows Phone version of the One M8 or just a phone which inherits a few of its features, but since then sources for Engadget have claimed that it's called the 'One M8 for Windows' and that it will come with voice over LTE when it arrives on Verizon in the US, though that's a feature that we won't currently be able to make use of over in the UK.

Will it really be the same?

We've also heard from Tom Warren of The Verge that it will be a Windows Phone version of the HTC One M8. Aside from BoomSound and the Duo cameras it's still not clear how much of a replica it will be, but an HTC One M8 running Windows Phone would certainly be an exciting prospect.

It's worth noting also that the impending update to Windows Phone 8.1 adds support for interactive cases, so we may also be in for a Windows Phone version of the Dot View case to accompany it.

Engadget's tipster claims the phone will reach the US by the end of September at the latest, so we should know more soon. Fingers crossed for a UK release and a better name.

  • If HTC does launch the One M8 on Windows Phone it might worry the Lumia 930.
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.