HTC One Mini 2 gets high-resolution front camera for selfie addicts

TC is hoping the design and the ability to take high-resolution selfies with a 5-megapixel front camera will make its One Mini 2 a hit.

The company is once again putting out a smaller version of a flagship phone, this one with a design that mimics the recently released One M8. But calling the newcomer mini or compact, which HTC does, is a bit of a stretch since it has a 4.5-inch HD screen and weighs 137 grams.

The One Mini 2 runs Android 4.4 and is powered by a Qualcomm S400 quad-core processor running at 1.2GHz. It also has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of integrated storage that can be expanded using an microSD card slot.

That makes it bigger and faster than the One Mini, which has a 4.3-inch HD screen and a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, but slower than the phone it’s the “mini” version of, the One M8, which has a 5-inch full HD screen and a more advanced processor with four cores running at 2.3GHz.

Like its competitors, HTC is hoping that camera improvements will encourage people to pick the new device. Faced with the difficulty of making significant improvements to the main camera on the back of the phone HTC has, like other vendors, turned its attention to the front-facing camera. Last week Huawei Technologies announced the Ascend P7, which has an 8-megapixel camera on the front, while HTC has chosen a 5-megapixel version for the One Mini 2, suitable for high-resolution selfies or shooting videos in 1080p. The One M8 also has a 5-megapixel camera on the front. On the back, HTC has chosen a more traditional 13-megapixel camera for the One Mini 2, rather than the UltraPixel technology used in recent flagship models.

HTC hasn’t announced what the One Mini 2 will cost, but it will be cheaper than the One M8, making it more accessible and therefore an important device for the company as it tries to turn around its fortunes. It will be available in Europe, the Middle East and Asia in Gunmetal Grey, Glacial Silver and Amber Gold from June 2014. The company declined to comment on whether it will sell the phone in the U.S.