HTC's One Max confirmed: fingerprint sensor, 5.9-inch display

HTC today unveiled its One Max Android phone, which features a massive 5.9-inch, 1080p display and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

The fingerprint sensor (not a huge surprise after last week’s leaks) enables you to unlock the phone with a touch on the rear and launch specific apps by assigning them to a finger. It will inevitably draw comparisons to Apple’s Touch ID, but probably won’t offer the same level of security — it doesn’t look like you can use your fingerprint in place of a password, for example.

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The One Max comes in 16 and 32GB versions, but you can remove the back cover and insert a microSD card for up to 64GB of additional storage. You can’t upgrade the 3,300 mAh battery, which is said to offer 25 hours of talk time.

The phone runs HTC’s new Sense 5.5 software, which enables integration with services like Google+ and Instagram.

Otherwise, outside and in, the Max is pretty similar to the earlier HTC One. Its plastic-aluminum design houses a 1.7GHz quad-core processor (from Qualcomm) and 2GB of RAM. The rear-facing camera sports the same “ultrapixel” technology as its smaller sibling, shooting 4 megapixel photos that are supposed to perform better in low-light situations than competing smartphones. The front-facing camera shoots 2.1 mexapixel photos.

The HTC One Max will compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3, another large-screen phone (or “phablet”), from HTC’s Korean rival. HTC finds itself in the corner for this battle, posting a $119 million operating loss last quarter while Samsung announced record profits.