HTC 11 (HTC U) Specs : Price And Release Date Detailed

HTC U

HTC 11 -With Snapdeagon 835, 6GB RAM, Dual-Camera and 3700mAh Battery

HTC has already released the HTC U Ultra inside 2017, a really quite capable and premium-grade device and with a hefty price tag to boot. BUT, it's not a flagship.

It's using last year's Snapdragon 821 processor, and although it's feature rich, it just doesn't have that flagship swagger. HTC knows this and isn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, to be fair, and the firm has also said that it will launch another, flagship grade model inside the year. This is the rumoured HTC 11.

HTC's president of smartphones and connected devices, Chailin Chang, conducted an interview with tech news publication Tbreak, during which he revealed some interesting titbits about the firm's plans for the rest of 2017 and beyond.

According to Chang, HTC's U Ultra smartphone probably isn't the last flagship category device for the OEM to launch this year. We've previously heard from a Forbes report how Samsung's hoarding of the 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processors it produces on Qualcomm's behalf has created a shortage - a shortage which means  the LG G6 and HTC U Ultra were forced to make do with the Snapdragon 821.

Allegedly, supply of the S835 will increase enough for other OEMs besides Samsung to get in on the action after the Galaxy S8 launches in April. With all that in mind, Chang alluded to HTC launching an S835 powered flagship this year, which may well be the HTC 11.

"Every time there is a brand new CPU with power that we can leverage, we're always at the forefront doing that. Some people are talking about the timing [of our release] but timing was determined 9 months ago. This is the best CPU out there. When the next flagship CPU comes, HTC will be one of the very first tier doing that."

HTC 11

"When we will look back, it will be clear why HTC introduced [these new phones.] We want to have a couple of months of leadership before the next flagship CPU comes. But that will be in another period of time- not at MWC. Not for us or any other player. I can tell you that for sure. When the new CPU comes, HTC will have another flagship," he added.

Of course he doesn't explicity name-drop the HTC 11 or the  Snapdragon 835, but reading between the lines that's likely what he's referring to. The long and the short of it is HTC wants to release a best-in-class flagship-level phone this year, and the S835 will enable that, but not until HTC can get hands on the chip after April. 

According to Evan Blass (leak further detailed below), HTC will launch the flagship in early May, with the handset being announced sometime in April.