Renowned leaker, Evan Blass, has indicated that HTC is following up its flagship HTC 10 smartphone with a more affordable Desire-series device with the same numbering. If his information is correct - which it normally is - the HTC Desire 10 will be launched at some point in the third quarter of this year. 

As of yet, very little is known about the Desire 10. In fact, this is the first time the device has even been mentioned online. With it taking on the same numbering as the high-end device, we could easily make the assumption that the next Desire will at least look similar to the HTC 10. We might even go as far as predicting the first metal Desire phone since the original HTC Desire. 

Specifications are a complete unknown, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it follow in the trends of current affordable mid-range phones with a full HD 5.5-inch screen, Snapdragon 600-series processor and 2/3GB RAM. 

Of course, any guesses are completely speculative, and are based on current market trends rather than any inside information. 

The one snippet of information we do have is a follow-up to Blass' original tweet which shows a small cropped image of the camera unit. Its lens sits inside a protruding round metal ring, above a dual LED and laser-autofocus sensor. Interestingly, there also appears to be an antenna band running on either side of the camera, suggesting this phone will indeed be made of metal.

With HTC ditching the 'One' branding earlier this year, it could well be that this new Desire phone is being launched as a replacement to the HTC One E9 series. The camera and metal build suggest this is a likely scenario, but nothing is confirmed until HTC announces it officially.