HTC's recently-launched One (E8) smartphone packs high-end specs and features into a polycarbonate body, and apparently it's far cheaper than the flagship One (M8).

Usually, when you hear high-end specs in a plastic body you think of Samsung, and when you hear premium-build smartphone you think of HTC. With the latest HTC One (E8), however, the lines get a bit blurry and the plastic counterpart of the One (M8) is shaping up to be a real Galaxy S5 challenger.

For those unfamiliar with the recently-announced HTC One (E8), the smartphone sports a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front shooter. Other specs include 16GB of internal storage capacity, a micro SD card slot for additional memory of up to 128GB, and a large 2,600 mAh battery to keep things up and running. The smartphone also comes with dual-SIM support, as it's made for the Asian market, as well as 4G LTE.

HTC gave no official pricing details so far, but Engadget claims to have obtained some information in this regards. According to the publication, the HTC One (E8) will cost CN¥2,799 in China, which would translated to roughly $450. For the sake of comparison, the current HTC One (M8) flagship costs $699 from the company's online store, or $799 for the Harman/Kardon model. In other words, the plastic version costs $249 less, and all it sacrifices is the aluminum body and the Duo Camera setup on its rear.

Otherwise, the HTC One (E8) is still a real powerhouse in terms of specifications, which means that it could spell some serious trouble for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Samsung is well-known for its love of plastic, but that hasn't stopped customers from buying high-end Galaxy smartphones. 

If the HTC One (E8) launches at a $450 price tag with those specs on board, it will most likely become a huge success in no time. We'll still have to wait until HTC offers some official details regarding the handset's launch, price, and availability, but competition seems to be heating up already. Would you buy the HTC One (E8) at this price?