Hardware specs for HTC's so-called Aero phone have leaked online - and it sounds like it's on course to become the world's most powerful handset, Digital Spy reports.

Benchmark test results flagged up by PocketNow suggest the One M9 follow-up will be run off an all-powerful deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 SoC clocked at 1.96GHz.

Backed by 4GB of RAM, the Aero trumped the Samsung Galaxy Note 5's multicore score of 5084 on the GeekBench speed test, clocking in at a dizzying 5884.

Many of the world's most powerful smartphones only pack octa-core chips and none of the latest apps are designed with ten cores in mind - so it's debatable whether a smartphone even needs this much power.

Reports suggested that the Aero would break cover at an event on September 6, but that turned out to be a launchpad for the mid-range Desire 728.

Although those rumours were little more than a false alarm, we're expecting to see the new flagship break cover at the press conference HTC has scheduled for September 29.