Leaked HTC Desire 12 Plus specs talk of a larger 6" screen with 18:9 aspect ratio

The HTC Desire 12 will get a larger, more powerful sibling – the Desire 12 Plus. With 18:9 screens, both phones will bring HTC’s new premium design to the low end.

The Plus model will have a 5.99” LCD screen (up from 5.5”), but keep its 720 x 1,440px resolution (268ppi). This pushes the dimensions of the phone to 158.2 x 76.5 x 8.4mm and 155g.

The HTC Desire 12 Plus will have a 13MP camera on the back and an 8MP selfie shooter on the front, upgrading the camera setup of the non-Plus model.

Another upgrade includes the move away from a MediaTek chipset (with a quad-core processor) and onto Snapdragon 450 (octa-core A53 at 14nm). It will have 3 gigs of RAM and 32GB storage (of which 23.5GB will be user-available), same as the non-Plus model.

The Desire 12 Plus will reportedly have a 2,965mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 – however, the bundled charger is rated for only 5V at 1.5A, that’s not Quick Charge at all.

Expect HTC to unveil the new Desire pair in the Spring. There’s no word on pricing, but we imagine it will be on the affordable side of things.

Source

HTC ends poor year on a low note: revenues drop to lowest level in 13 years

HTC ended 2017 on a low note – December saw revenues of NTD 4.02 billion or $136 million dollars. That’s a sharp drop of 29% compared to November and an even worse 37.3% compared to December 2016. Note: this are unaudited numbers.

The HTC U11+, which might have been Google’s Pixel 2 XL in another life, went on sale in December but did not help to reverse HTC’s downward trajectory.

2017 was a poor year for the long-time smartphone maker. Its total revenue for the year was NTD 62.12 billion ($2.1 / €1.8 billion), the lowest number in the last 13 years. That was back in the O2 XDA era!

Monthly Consolidated Revenues				(In NT$ million)
	2017	2016	MoM Change	YoY Change
January	4,665	6,477	-27.18%	-27.98%
February	4,669	4,200	0.09%	11.17%
March	5,197	4,144	11.30%	25.41%
April	4,714	5,751	-9.29%	-18.03%
May	4,531	6,753	-3.89%	-32.91%
June	6,891	6,358	52.10%	8.38%
July	6,194	6,319	-10.11%	-1.97%
August	3,001	6,579	-51.56%	-54.39%
September	6,510	9,332	116.95%	-30.24%
October	6,064	8,172	-6.86%	-25.79%
November	5,663	7,670	-6.61%	-26.16%
December	4,020	6,406	-29.02%	-37.25%
Total	62,120	78,161		-20.52%

Although HTC has been reporting declining revenue on an yearly basis the last six months, a bright beam of light shined upon the manufacturer in December. A deal worth $1.1 billion between HTC and Google was approved by the Taiwanese anti-trust regulators and the deal can be completed in 2018.

HTC gave Google access to intellectual properties and some of the hardware team in order to develop the next Pixel devices and VR products. The deal could bring HTC’s hopes in making a comeback to the US market that is currently dominated by Samsung and Apple.

Source (PDF)

HTC and Motorola don't intentionally slow down older devices, unlike Apple

The mother of all mobile-related conspiracy theories was shockingly confirmed one week ago, when Apple admitted that it purposefully slows down old iPhones. While the company's intention is actually to prolong the life of those devices that are affected by aging batteries, this admission was obviously very controversial on the internet, where even much smaller issues turn into all-out flame wars at times.

What Apple does is it throttles the CPU of iDevices that have old batteries, in order to prevent situations in which the battery life becomes worse. And today two of its competitors have chimed in.

Both HTC and Motorola reveal that they do not engage in such behavior with their products. An HTC spokesperson plainly said that "is not something we do", while a Motorola spokesperson said the following: "We do not throttle CPU performance based on older batteries". The Vergehas also reached out to Google, Samsung, LG, and Sony for comment on this matter, but hasn't heard back from them yet. It would definitely be interesting if we were to find out that Apple isn't the only company doing this.

Source

HTC enters the bezel-less race with the U11+

It took HTC a while to get here, but it finally has a phone with a nearly bezel-free front. The U11+ has an 18:9 6.0-inch Super LCD6 of 1440x2880px resolution with Gorilla Glass 5 and no physical buttons on the front (the fingerprint scanner moved to the rear).

On the back there's a 12MP UltraPixel 3 OIS camera with an f/1.7 aperture, 1.4µm pixels, UltraSpeed autofocus, and a dual-LED flash. It can do 1080p video capture at 120fps, and 4K recording with Hi-Res audio.

The front camera has 8 MP resolution, 85-degree field-of-view, f/2.0 aperture, and 1080p video recording. The U11+ is housed in an IP68-certified body, which allows it to go under up to 1.5m of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.

    
HTC U11+

That body is among the prettier around - the back carries the design language of the U11 with a glossy "Liquid Surface" back. You get a choice of Ceramic Black, Amazing Silver and Translucent - the standout among the three.

On the inside the HTC U11+ has a Snapdragon 835 chip, with either 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage or 6/128GB, depending on region. In all cases you get a microSD card slot too. Also depending on where you buy it from, you may or may not receive a dual-SIM model.

   
HTC U11+ in Translucent Black

All of this is powered by an impressive 3,930mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. The U11+ runs Android 8.0 Oreo with HTC Sense on top. The Edge Sense functionality that lets you squeeze the phone to launch features is baked in too.

The device measures 158.5 x 74.9 x 8.5 mm and weighs 188g. It supports Cat.15 LTE, with maximum peak download speeds of 800Mbps (and 150Mbps uploads). It does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but you were probably expecting that. On the other hand, Bluetooth 5.0 is built-in, along with Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS, and GLONASS.

Pricing will be €799 in Europe. The U11+ will be sold in "select markets around the world", but not North America.

HTC U11 Life announced in two versions: Android One and Sense

Alongside its new flagship, the U11+, today HTC has also unveiled a mid-range smartphone - the U11 Life. This comes in two versions: Android One and Sense. <п>The latter runs HTC's UI overlay on top of Android 7.1 Nougat, has Amazon Alexa pre-installed alongside Google Assistant, and will be available in North America. And the update to Oreo is supposedly arriving within 30 days.

The Android One variant is coming to the rest of the world running pure, unadulterated Android 8.0 Oreo from day one.

Aside from that, the two models are almost identical. Regardless of where you buy your U11 Life, you're getting a 5.2-inch 1080p Super LCD and an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance (submersion in up to 1m of water for up to 30 minutes).

   
HTC U11 life Android One version images

The handset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC, aided by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage in North America. Elsewhere you'll either get that or 4/64GB. Storage expansion through microSD cards is supported in all cases.

The rear camera is a 16 MP f/2.0 unit with 4K video recording, phase detection autofocus, and an LED flash. On the front there's another 16 MP f/2.0 sensor, but this one only shoots video in 1080p.

   
More official renders of the Android One HTC U11 life

The U11 life supports Cat.11 LTE globally, with peak download speeds of 600Mbps, and uploads of up to 75Mbps. In North America you get Cat.9 (downloads up to 450Mbps and uploads up to 50Mbps).

The phone's 2,600 mAh battery charges through a USB Type-C port, and there's Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou on board. No 3.5mm headset jack though.

A fingerprint sensor is below the screen. Like the other U-series devices before it, this one also comes with the "liquid surface" design. The back is a highly durable acrylic glass that is crafted using a method of layering highly-refractive precious minerals. This results in colors that change whenever you move the phone, even just a little bit.

HTC U11 life Sense version

Edge Sense, which lets you squeeze the phone in order to perform specific actions, is built into the U11 Life as well. HTC USonic earbuds are in the box. The handset's dimensions are 149.09 x 72.9 x 8.1 mm, and it weighs 142g.

The Sense version is available in the US today, in Sapphire Blue, for $349. T-Mobile will be the exclusive carrier partner for the U11 Life stateside, with sales beginning at the magenta company tomorrow.

The phone is out in Canada too, for CAD 449. The Android One iteration will be offered in an additional hue - Brilliant Black, but pricing and availability for that one will be confirmed market by market.

New HTC teaser for November 2 event shows a phone with a fingerprint scanner on its back

HTC is holding an event next week, on November 2 to be precise, for the unveiling of at least one new smartphone. Two new HTC devices have been in the rumors lately, the super high-end U11 Plus and the mid-range U11 Life which will be part of the Android One program.

Today the Taiwanese company has released a new teaser image for the event, showing us a handset that has the design language of the U series, but the fingerprint scanner on the back - unlike past members of the family.

Such a move has long been rumored for the U11 Plus, which is expected to be HTC's first smartphone with very small bezels. Those are probably the reason why the biometric authentication sensor had to be put on the phone's back.

The U11 Plus should have a 5.99-inch 1,440x2,880 panel, the Snapdragon 835 at the helm, 4 or 6GB of RAM, and 64 or 128GB of storage. A 12 MP main camera with f/1.7 aperture and an 8 MP selfie shooter will complete the package.

On the other hand, the U11 Life is expected to come with a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, the Snapdragon 630 or 660 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 16 MP main camera, and a 16 MP selfie snapper. It will run Android 8.0 Oreo from day one and will have a 2,600 mAh battery.

Source

HTC and Google announce a $1.1 billion agreement for the future of Pixel

HTC and Google have officially announced that the companies have reached a deal. Google will pay HTC $1.1 billion in cash in exchange for some of its employees and Google will have access to HTC’s intellectual property. So what does this mean for the future HTC and the Pixel lineup?

Certain HTC employees, many of which are currently working with Google to develop the Pixel phones, will join Google. In addition, Google will receive a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property. This means that Google will have access to HTC’s manufacturing patents and designs for its future Pixel devices.

HTC has been a longtime partner of Google and has created some of the most beautiful, premium devices on the market. We’re excited and can’t wait to welcome members of the HTC team who will be joining Google to fuel further innovation and future product development in consumer hardware. - Rick Osterlog, Senior VP of Hardware at Google

The transaction will help HTC to excel with its upcoming flagship smartphone (which is already being worked on), and HTC will continue to expand its VIVE VR platform as well as invest in IoT, AR, and AI.

In turn, this shows Google’s commitment to the future of the Pixel lineup, and the deal will help to strengthen and streamline the Google Pixel portfolio. The transaction also introduces Google to a new technology hub in HTC’s home country of Taiwan.

The transaction is still waiting to be approved by regulatory officials as per usual, and is expected to complete in early 2018.

This is a huge step for Google in solidifying its foundation of building its own hardware and a firm first step into 2018 for HTC.

New Apple Watch to be throttled by T-Mobile to 512Kbps

There’s a lot of excitement of Apple fans with the announcement of Apple’s first LTE-connected Apple Watch. However, the next hot button issue surrounding the idea of carrying a second cellular-connected device is: what will the $10/month add-on get you?

At T-Mobile, you won’t get anything faster than 512Kbps speeds on the new Apple Watch, this is according to the Un-Carrier’s website.

In order to get a wearable connected with T-Mobile, you must use the carrier’s DIGITS service, which allows you to mirror a T-Mobile line to a second SIM, or you can use it to connect any cellular-smartwatch with your number. But any smartwatch (Including Samsung’s) is limited to 512 Kbps with DIGITS.

DIGITS costs $15 per month or $10 with Auto Pay. However, according to MacRumors you can get "High Speed Data with paired DIGITS" for $20 per month or $25 without Autopay.

This shouldn’t be an issue to do basic smartwatch tasks. Even streaming Apple music should be okay as streaming music is (theoretically) half the bandwidth at 256 Kbps. However, if you feel that these speeds aren’t enough, you can always pay more.

There’s no word yet on which other carriers might be following the same rule for smartwatch data.

Via 1 | Via 2 | Via 3 | Source

Google in talks to buy HTC's smartphone business

HTC hasn't been financially successful for awhile now and it seems it's now fully in danger of being consumed by a bigger company. In this case the rumors point to Google as the interested party.

Apparently talks are being held between Google and HTC about a possible acquisition of HTC's smartphone business (leaving the Vive VR business) but the information is strictly unofficial and there are no specific ammounts mentioned.

The news is made plausible for two reasons - Google needs a hardware manufacturing arm for its Pixel smartphones and HTC has just suffered its worst financial month in 13 years - August 2017 saw a year over year decline in revenue of 54% and a 51% decline over the previous month.

Rumor has it that Google got LG to make the Pixel XL 2, which would further decrease HTC's profits (HTC made the first generation Pixel phones).

It remains to be seen if Google is interested in buying HTC's smartphone business but the topic brings back flashbacks of the time Google paid big money for Motorola's smartphone business and sold it for much less just 2 years later.

Source | Via

HTC outs Q2 2017 results

HTC reported operating losses of NT$2.2 billion, which got to NT$1.95 billion ($64.3 million) after taxes in Q2 2017. This is the ninth consecutive quarter that HTC loses money although the numbers aren’t as bad as they were in the January-March period. The overall revenue for the company in Q2 was NT$16.1 billion or about $531 million.

After a series of management and realignment of resources, HTC managed to cut its operating expenses down to NT$4.4 billion ($145 million) from NT$6.4 billion ($211 million) a year earlier.

HTC started shipping the U11 in May and according to the company, “topped the list of Android flagship phones in Taiwan”. This led to an 11% increase in quarterly revenues. It also lowered operating loss from $2.4 billion before taxes in Q1 2017.

The company expects better financial results in Q3 2017 after the launch of the VR headset HTC Standalone.

Source

HTC reports declining revenue in July

HTC has hit a lull in its 20 year history. It posted a 9% decline in revenue in April and July wasn’t any better – revenue for the month was $205 million (NTD 6.2 billion), down 10.16% compared to the previous month. Still, the yearly decline is a comparatively small 2.06%.

However, a string of bad months is starting to add up to a bad year. For the first seven months of 2017, HTC took in $1.22 billion (NTD 36.86 billion) in revenue, down 7.85% compared to the same period in 2016.

Actually, things seemed to be going well in June – the revenue was up a solid 52% compared to a weak May, even the year on year number was 8.38% higher. And the company pushes further into VR territory with a stand-alone VR headset and it relaunched in the Philippines (after being absent from that market for five years).

	2017 (NTD, million)	2016 (NTD, million)	MoM change	YoY change
July Revenue	6,194	6,319	-10.11%	-1.97%
June Revenue	6,891	6,358	52.10%	8.38%
May Revenue	4,531	6,753	-3.89%	-32.91%
April Revenue	4,714	5,751	-9.29%	-18.03%
March Revenue	5,197	4,144	11.30%	25.41%
February Revenue	4,669	4,200	0.09%	11.17%
January Revenue	4,665	6,477	-27.18%	-27.98%
TOTAL	36,861	40,002	-7.85%

Note that these are unaudited numbers, HTC will publish audited results with the quarterly report and reveal some insight into the cause of this slump.

Source | Via