New HTC J Butterfly announced for Japan, offers better specs than the M9

While the HTC One M9 has its fans, there are also a number of people who have criticized the latest flagship for not doing enough to set itself apart from its predecessor. Not only is the design very similar to the M8 but even the specs aren’t a dramatic jump forward, especially when it comes to the 1080p display. For those that were hoping for a bit more from the One M9, you might want to take a look at the latest iteration of the HTC J Butterfly.

Although the body of this phone is plastic instead of metal, the insides are as premium as ever with a 5.2-inch QHD display, a Snapdragon 810 processor, a 2700 mAh battery, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage with microSD, BoomSound front-facing speakers, a 20.2MP duo camera and a 13MP front cam. The J Butterfly (HTV31) is available in three different colors (red/white/blue) and it also sports water-resistance.

The J Butterfly will be heading to Japan, exclusively through carrier KDDI, later this summer. It is also very possible the phone will be re-branded as the Butterfly 3 in other markets. For those in the United States, it is less likely that you’ll ever see the device officially launched, though anything is possible.

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So why did HTC hold off these special extra (high-end duo camera, better front facer, QHD), instead of releasing them with the M9? That’s a good question, though really only HTC knows the answer to that.

Not too long ago, AA’s Nirave wrote a post about how Sony and HTC could risk falling further behind the crowd, due to their design/hardware decisions made with the Xperia Z4 and One M9. Whether you agree or not, it is interesting that HTC choice to forgo extras like QHD on its primary flagship, only to turn around and include them in other devices like the One M9+, E9+, and now the J Butterfly.

Do you think that HTC made the right move by avoiding the QHD trend with its flagship? Conversely, would J Butterfly-level specs have been enough to sell you on the One M9, even if design stayed largely the same?