CNET

HTC's 2016 flagship smartphone won't launch next month at Mobile World Congress, according to rumors gathered by blog IT Home.

The new scuttlebutt is that the HTC One M10, which would update last year's HTC One M9, hasn't been finalized yet. It could instead debut at a separate event in March, followed by an April release.

For the most part, phone makers want to unveil their flagship phones at Mobile World Congress (MWC), the mobile industry's largest trade show, scheduled this year in late February. It's there where major vendors like LG, Sony, and Samsung introduce their top-tier phones. If HTC misses this window, it will mark the first time in four years that the company has not launched its "One" line of phones at MWC.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 phone had a similar fate, with Samsung holding a separate (and widely criticized) press conference several weeks after Mobile World Congress. Samsung is a large enough brand that the event pulled substantial media and consumer interest. Now on its decline, HTC may not be as lucky.

HTC One M10: High-megapixel camera, waterproof

The upcoming phone itself is still just built on rumors, but they're promising. The handset is expected to once again use a unibody aluminum build, this time one that's resistant to both water and dust. Reports also suggest it could pack Qualcomm's latest processor, the Snapdragon 820, and sport a 23-megapixel rear camera.

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The One M10 could also include a 3,000mAh battery, which should be more than enough for a typical day's use, and a fingerprint sensor on the phone's front. The handset is expected to run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with a custom HTC Sense 8.0 experience.

Regardless of whether HTC launches its phone at MWC 2016 , CNET will be on the ground covering any and all announcements.

HTC did not respond to a request for comment.