HTC One Max appears in public, plus details on the fingerprint scanner

The HTC One Max is becoming increasingly more likely as the almost constant stream of rumours, leaks and speculation reaches tipping point - and now it has apparently been spotted in public.

According to a posting on the Chinese social site Weibo, on user managed to snap a picture of the HTC One Max in action while riding on public transport - and it looks huge.

Of course there's no guaranteeing that this picture is legit - it could of course be the work of someone who's a dab hand on Photoshop - but it appears to be consistent with rumours of a 5.9-inch, full HD device with the same stylings as the HTC One.

Fingers at the ready

That's not all though, as Chinese site Ctech has also spotted an image on the same social site which refers to the fingerprint scanner touted for the rear of the One Max.

While there's not a huge amount of detail to be gained here, it appears the HTC One Max will be able to recognise all your fingers, from thumb to pinkie, potentially allowing different digits to perform different tasks.

This could see great functionality over Apple's TouchID system which features on the iPhone 5S - where users can unlock and makes payments with their print, but do little else.

Various reports suggest HTC may be planning a One Max launch event sometime in the next week or so, with October 15 and October 17 being mooted as possible dates.

• What we know so far: HTC One Max release date, news and rumours