Between news of financial issues and now an investment by Google, HTC has been in the news a lot of late, the launch of their well received U11 handset with squeezable frames has been a high-point for them however. Now HTC is going to build on that with the HTC U11 Plus (Codename: Master), set to be announced later this year.
According to French Android site Frandroid, the U11 Plus will arrive in November, 6-months since the launch of the original U11. The highlight of the U11 Plus will be the 18:9 aspect ratio, edge-to-edge 5.99″ 2880 x 1440 resolution display from JDI.
The phone will be high-end as the original U11 with a Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of storage. The camera setup does get a slight downgrade, with Frandroid listing a 12MP (rear)/8MP (front) camera setup. There’s no sign of a dual-camera setup being included which has been the case with most manufacturers this year, so we may have to wait for next year.
The full specs according to Frandroid include:
- 5.99 inch JDI 18: 9 Quad HD + screen (2880 x 1440 pixels)
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- 4 or 6 GB of RAM
- 64 or 128 GB of UFS 2.1 storage
- Waterproof IP68
- 12 megapixel camera on the backv
- 8 megapixel camera on the front
- QuickCharge 3.0 18 Watt Rechargeable Battery (9V / 2A)
- Edge Sense
- U-Type USB Headphones
The announcement of the U11 Plus will apparently be held in China in November, so whether it makes its way here to Australia, or other western markets will be the question. Also rumoured for the launch is a HTC branded Android One device, codenamed HTC Life.
Jason was a massive fan of the U11 and the squeezable frame when he reviewed it earlier this year, so this too should offer similar performance. We’ll know more when HTC is ready to take the wraps off officially.
Would have been nice if this was the U11 6 months ago. I probably would have gotten one, but now my sights are set on the Pixel 2 XL.
I wish HTC the best of luck, and I think they’ll need it now that a substantial amount of talent has gone to Google.