It’s been quite a while since HTC released a phone, but that drought could be over as soon as tomorrow, according to a teaser posted on HTC Taiwan’s Facebook page.
The post itself has next to nothing in terms of information, containing only an image and a message that, when translated, reads “Looking forward to 2019.6.11 e.” This clearly indicates that something is on the way, and it’s coming tomorrow.
But HTC doesn’t just make phones, so this could be literally anything. However, it does dovetail with rumors of a new midrange HTC device that have surfaced in the last few months — the rumored HTC U19e. According to benchmarks from AnTuTu and Geekbench, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, contains 6GB of RAM, and comes with a hefty 128GB of storage space — which amount to some fairly solid midrange specs.
According to those same benchmarks, we can also expect a display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 2,160 x 1,080 pixel resolution. Design schematics apparently show a device with a 6-inch screen and a design reminiscent of the HTC U12 Life. It’s also expected to come with a dual-lens camera on the back, and a 3,930mAh battery with QuickCharge 4 support.
There’s also an overt mention of Android 9.0 Pie. This is especially important for HTC fans, as it indicates some level of dedication to Android Pie. HTC has been one of the slowest companies to update existing devices to Android 9.0 Pie, and a new device running Pie could be an indication of more to come.
The HTC U12 Life Simon Hill/Digital Trends
While once responsible for some of the best Android phones in the business, HTC has been struggling recently. June 2018 saw the company lay off thousands of workers because of a rapid decline in sales. Prior to that, HTC sold off a large portion of its mobile team to Google, signaling that the Taiwanese giant didn’t see much of its future in smartphones. There may be good reasons for that, too. While the HTC U11 Life proved the company could still make a great smartphone, the HTC U12 Life wasn’t quite as good — and the less said about the button-less HTC U12 Plus, the better. Still, if HTC can produce a solid midrange phone, it would definitely prove there’s life in this old dog yet.
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