A mere day before Samsung's hotly anticipated Unpacked event, where the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are said to be unveiled, more details about HTC's upcoming competing handset have emerged online.
In a report from VentureBeat, it has been revealed by a source familiar with HTC's plans that the device, codenamed "Ocean", features a 5.5-inch WQHD (2560 x 1440) panel, and makes use of a novel input method, initially the preserve of design concepts.
This input method, which is located in the device's metal frame, is dubbed 'Edge Sense', integrated of course with HTC's custom Android skin, Sense 9. You can see the feature in action in the videos below:
To make this work, sensors are embedded into the frame, allowing for use of customizable actions, activated via gestures such as squeezing or swiping along the device's sides. As some may remember, this is similar to Microsoft's ill-fated McLaren prototype from a few years ago, which used something called MixView, to implement a rough version of this feature set.
Beyond its distinguishing feature, we also know HTC's soon-to-be-launched device will feature a Snapdragon 835 SoC (like the Galaxy S8 and S8+), which falls right in line with an earlier statement by Chialin Chang, President of HTC's Smartphone and Connected Device division.
While resolution-wise, the cameras will mirror what can already be found on the U Ultra, the source also reveals that at least one of these Sony-built sensors will be replaced with a newer version. As such, the device comes with a 16-megapixel IMX351 sensor at the front, and 12-megapixel IMX362 sensor at the back.
In terms of storage, consumers will get a choice between a 64GB and 128GB flavour, while also being allowed to expand the storage by use of a microSD card.
The final name of the device seems to simply be 'HTC U' (which would make it the third in the series, after HTC U Play and U Ultra), with an unveil planned for mid to late April, and a global release in early May.
Source: VentureBeat
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