When 2013 started, the term “flagship Android smartphones” was defined as a device having a Snapdragon 600, 2 GB of RAM, and a 1080p display. That definition has now changed in the second half of the year, with the Snapdragon 800 being top dog, and 3 GB of RAM seen as the bare minimum. What are 2014 phones going to look like? If you believe the rumors, we’ll see 2K displays, 64-bit chips, and all sorts of other crazy things.

So it’s with those numbers in mind that I’m sad to report that HTC’s 2014 flagship phone, currently codenamed the M8, will be nothing more than a spec bumped HTC One. The screen will measure 5.0 inches on the diagonal instead of 4.7 inches, but it’ll still be 1080p. The processor inside will be bumped up to a Snapdragon 800, but by then the Snapdragon 805 will be out. And the RAM will stay at 2 GB, whereas I can guarantee you the Galaxy S5 will have 3 GB.

But Stefan, specs aren’t everything! You’re absolutely right, they aren’t, but unfortunately, that’s not how the market works. When the HTC One and the Galaxy S4 were battling it out over the summer, everyone knew the One looked better, felt better, and that Sense was easier to look at than TouchWiz, but the S4 has the faster CPU, the better camera, and most importantly, it was marketed as being the cure for cancer.

I still say you should keep an open mind about HTC. Sure, they’ve been repeatedly fumbling the ball, but they have it in them to succeed. With rumors saying the Galaxy S5 will have a 4,000 mAh battery, however, I think I know which flagship I want.