It’s an established fact that HTC is working on an oversized version of the successful One, dubbed the One Max. We’ve even seen it in a couple of leaked images, though the most recent one turned out to be fake. We’ve also heard a multitude of rumors about the 6-inch device, including some that said the One Max would be launched in early fall.

Chief Marketing Officer Ben Ho confirmed yesterday that HTC is working on a variant of the One, without specifically mentioning the One Max. Talking to Taiwanese media, Ho admitted once more that HTC sent out a confusing message to customers in 2012, and said that the company is focusing on fewer products this year.

Ho reportedly stated that HTC would launch “two to three mid-tier Desire-branded phones” by the end of the year, as well as a “variant of [the] flagship One series in the fourth quarter”. We’re positive that the executive was referring to the One Max, as there have been no reports about a One variant besides it.

Is it reasonable to expect the HTC One Max release in the fourth quarter? The time window seems a little late, considering that Samsung will launch the Note 3 in early September and that the Sony Xperia Z Ultra will hit the stores in the same period. Surely, HTC wants to steal some of Samsung’s thunder and offer customers a worthy alternative to the Note 3 as soon as possible.

Then again, HTC could announce the Max in September and ship it in October, which is the first month of the fourth quarter. That’s assuming everything goes well with the production and HTC doesn’t hit any snags, like it did with the One. If that’s the case, we’re in for a hot end of the year in the phablet landscape.