Why it matters to you
The HTC U11 is a very desirable phone, but it’s quite large. The rumored U11 Life may bring some of the U11’s best features to a phone that better fits in your hand.
HTC has won plenty of new fans with the HTC U11, a very capable camera phone with the unusual squeezable Edge Sense feature to really make the phone fun to use. It’s not finished for 2017 either, and rumors are to be believed, it will release another phone similar to the U11 called the U11 Life. It’s not expected to be so technically impressive, but is likely to bring many of the features that make the U11 desirable to a more reasonably priced, smaller device.
Here’s what we think we know about it.
Design
The HTC U11 looks stunning from the back, due to the eye-catching 3D liquid glass finish. We don’t know if the U11 Life will also have the same color-shifting look, as the only leaked image shows the device from the front. There’s a definite family resemblance between it and the U11, but the bezels show HTC won’t adopt the 18:9 screen aspect ratio championed by LG and Samsung recently, if the image is accurate.
A physical home button sits in the lower bezel, which we can assume doubles as a fingerprint sensor. The screen itself is expected to measure 5.2-inches and have a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, according to Android Authority. The phone may be quite durable, too, as an IP67 water and dust resistance rating is being rumored, matching the U11 and the Apple iPhone 7.
Specification
The U11 Life may not equal the U11 in power, but many of the best U11 features should still be present. Think of the U11 Life as a U11 Mini, and you’ll be about right. A Snapdragon 630, or a Snapdragon 660 processor is possible. This would be a step down in performance from the HTC U11, which has the Snapdragon 835 inside.
Sadly, it’s unlikely the U11’s 12-megapixel UltraPixel camera will make it to the U11 Life. Instead it may have a 16-megapixel rear camera, and a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The latter matches the U11, and the rear camera should benefit from phase detection autofocus. Further specs include a MicroSD card slot, 32GB of internal memory, and the active noise canceling USonic in-ear headphones.
Android 7.1.1 should be installed with HTC’s Sense 9.0 user interface, and the Edge Sense feature, where squeezing the phone can activate certain features. The battery may be a little small at 2,600mAh.
Release
HTC hasn’t officially confirmed the U11 Life, which has also been rumored under the HTC Ocean Life code name, and there haven’t been any rumors regarding its release. For now, the phone remains a rumor, but we’ll keep you updated here.