HTC One Max: Could 5.9-inch 'phablet' with fingerprint sensor rival Apple's new iPhone 5S?

Taiwanese phone-maker join Apple by offering fingerprint security to lock the handset

HTC has announced the latest addition to their flagship range of One smartphones: the HTC One Max. As the name suggests, the Max trumps the original HTC one with a 5.9-inch screen and a full HD 1080p resolution.

The One Max has been fairly comprehensively leaked prior to this, but the announcement from HTC does confirm that the new handset will come with its own fingerprint scanner.

Unlike Apple’s iPhone 5s the scanner on the Max is located on the back of the device. This placement seems to be more convenient for larger devices – LG chose to do something similar when they placed the hardware buttons for the 5.2-inch G2 in the same place.

As with the 5s the scanner will allow users to lock and unlock their phones, but HTC has also trumped Apple by adding a quick-launch feature: applications can be assigned to individual finger prints, offering users an alternative way to access favourite apps or functions.

Whether this feature will actually be easy to use or not will depend upon the quality of the hardware. Scanners are only convenient if they are speedy - even small delays make the experience frustrating. It looks like we’ll have to wait until hands-on reviews emerge to see if HTC have made the grade.

The rest of the hardware specs are quite unsurprising: there’s a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, a choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. 4G connectivity is also included as well as the same Ultrapixel rear camera that was launched with the original One.

Although prices haven’t been confirmed yet the One Max is expected to cost around the same as other high-end handsets like the Galaxy Note III. The Samsung phablet features a slightly smaller 5.7-inch screen and costs £600.