Modatisari Thapu Chayatam (Telugu boothu Kathalu)

A new flagship HTC phone appears to have leaked online, suggesting the struggling Taiwanese company is looking to ditch the design found on its current One M9 flagship handset.

The A9, also codenamed Aero, has a distinctly different look to the M9. There’s a camera above the antenna strip and a design that seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s iPhone 6.

Up front, HTC is said to be lining up so–called '2.5D' curved glass, although blurry images don’t really do this new feature justice.

Specs have also been mooted, with HTC lining up a 5.2–inch quad HD screen, 4GB RAM, a 3,500 mAh battery which should offer impressive longevity, as well as a 10- core processor. These are all very much rumours, however, having emerged via China’s Weibo social network.

It’s thought the A9 could make an official appearance this autumn, although a specific launch date is not yet clear.

HTC has had a tough year, its One M9 failing to catch the imagination in the wake of the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge and Apple’s iPhone 6.

The company reported a slide in profits and recently revealed plans to shed staff in order to out itself on a better financial footing.