Last month, we started seeing rumors of a new HTC device called the HTC Bolt, with a codename of Acadia, which was originally leaked by @evleaks. The original Tweet has been followed up by @LabTooFeR with a little more information: apparently the device is to run Android 7.0 Nougat under the HTC Sense 8gp interface, that is, the variant of Sense closer to stock Android. As such, the new HTC Bolt uses the same version of HTC Sense but over a newer version of Android. That the device is running Android 7.0 Nougat would confirm the reason why the time showing in the render is 7.00 pm.
Unfortunately, at this juncture we do not have many more details other than the render @evleaks originally posted. We know that the device is to be released into the American market via Sprint, and also that the European, African and Asian markets are also expected to get it. What we don’t know is when the device will be released, although one would expect at least in this quarter and perhaps this month as both HTC and Sprint seek to benefit from the fourth quarter holiday period sales boom. As far as the device’s specifications and size are concerned, we don’t really have all that much info at the moment. The phone looks to be constructed out of an alloy unibody design, as HTC pioneered, but it would appear to be a lesser model compared with the 2016 flagship HTC 10 device. It’s lacking the rear mounted laser autofocus as we find on the HTC 10, but appears to come with both a front mounted fingerprint sensor and dual rear LED flash. The device also appears to have both a side-mounted SIM slot and MicroSD card slot. If the HTC Bolt is, as expected, a lesser model in the HTC stable, we would expect it to use a less powerful chipset compared with the HTC 10’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, which could mean a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600-series chipset for the Western markets. HTC have, in the past, released a different variant of the same device using a MediaTek chipset for the Asian markets, often with a slightly different model designation.
There are no additional details available and we will have to wait for further leaks, a carrier or the manufacturer, HTC, to release details. As soon as that happens we will let you know, so stay tuned.