HTC will launch the U11 Life (previously known as the HTC Ocean Life) sometime in late 2017, though it wasn’t specifically mentioned when the device would make its debut short of it being sometime before the end of the year. That being said, there is only four months left before the end of the year, so it’s likely to happen within the next few months. The U11 Life will be a modified version of the U11, the company’s current flagship smartphone, and will come with slightly less powerful specifications yet a similar design to offer consumers a more affordable option than the U11 but without having to give up the style and overall feature set.
The U11 Life will come with a 5.2-inch display with a Full HD resolution, as opposed to the 5.5-inch Quad HD display used on the original HTC U11, so already you can start to see where HTC is cutting down the hardware to make this a more attainable device for those looking to save a little money. The phone will have a front-mounted fingerprint sensor which doubles as a home button that sits below the display, not unlike HTC’s other devices in the U lineup.
Though HTC will be changing some specifications for the U11 Life, there is one that it won’t be leaving out and that’s Edge Sense, perhaps the flagship feature of the U11, which is good for consumers as the U11 Life will surely cost less money and consumers will still be able to squeeze the sides of the phone to launch apps and functions. As for the cameras, it’s reported that the U11 Life will come with a 16-megapixel rear camera with Phase Detection Autofocus, but it will also come with a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front. Inside, the phone will reportedly be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor with 32GB of internal storage and an unknown amount of RAM, as well as support for expandable storage up to 2TB. It’s also said to come with an IP67 rating and come packaged with HTC’s USonic headphones for an enhanced listening experience for audio, with availability coming on at least T-Mobile’s network in the U.S. and the possibility of it coming unlocked from HTC directly. So far there’s no mention of a possible price point, but considering the lower-powered processor, smaller screen, and likely smaller amount of RAM, expect it to be a fair amount less than the U11 when it does launch.