Taiwanese company HTC had some mild success with its current flagship smartphone the One (M8). Even if it could be considered one of the best Android smartphones ever launched by HTC, the sales of the device weren't huge.

However, HTC continues to exist and due to One (M8) good enough sales, the company's profits have been going up for the first time in a long time.

The more reason for HTC to start working on its next flagship smartphone, which was initially supposed to be called the One (M9). Still, according to sources familiar with HTC's plans for the next year, the Taiwanese company will be changing the naming for its flagship lineup.

Unfortunately, it's either too early for HTC to have already decided or the information hasn't leaked online yet. The fact still remains that HTC is likely to drop the “M” naming for its next flagship smartphone.

Moving on to specs, HTC's next top-tier handset will be packed with much better features than the One (M8). According to AndroidHeadlines, the upcoming smartphone is expected to boast a stunning 5.5-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) resolution display and no less than 3GB of RAM.

The HTC One (M9) may or may not pack an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset inside. If not, then HTC will opt for the same quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC (system-on-chip) that's been included in other flagship smartphones launched by other brands.

Rumor has it that HTC will drop the UltraPixel camera and will come with a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, LED flash and OIS (optical image stabilization).

HTC One (M9) will be officially unveiled in early March at MWC 2015

Another improvement over the current high-end HTC One (M8) will be the high-capacity 3,500 mAh battery, which is necessary for the Quad HD display that's expected to drain quite a lot of energy.

The rumored HTC One (M9) won't be packed with Beats Audio technology anymore due to the company being recently acquired by Apple. Still, HTC is said to be in talks with BOSE to introduce its technology into the flagship smartphone.

If an agreement is reached, the One (M9) will come with stereo speakers in the front featuring BOSE audio technology.

The smartphone is said to feature 64GB of internal memory, as well as microSD card slot for storage expansion (up to 128GB).

Last but not least, HTC's next flagship smartphone will ship with Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system out of the box and is likely to be made from an aluminum silicon-carbide composite.

In the same piece of news, HTC is rumored to plan another high-end smartphone codenamed One M9 Prime, which is supposed to replace the One Max, but details are scarce at the moment. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.