We don’t really see many HTC smartphones lately, as the company’s sales and financial results haven’t been the best for years now, but it seems like the company is planning to revive its “One” series of devices.
A new HTC-branded phone got certified by the NCC in Taiwan, and it comes with a model number “HTC 2Q7A100”. If you take a look at the prototype image, you will notice that both its top and bottom bezels are pretty thick, even for budget smartphones in 2019.
The device does seem to include two front-facing cameras, though, so at least it will put all that bezel to use. The listing also claims that the body of this phone is made from a high viscosity silicone thickening + fog film, in other words, it has a plastic body, and the phone is also 12mm thick, which is also a bit above average for budget phones these days.
There is a “remark” in the provided image which is included down below, and it says that this phone is “same as M7’s”. We’re not entirely sure what that means, as its design is not the same as on the HTC M7 (known as HTC One), but it could indicate that this phone may be a part of the HTC One series.
The last HTC One-branded phone that the company introduced is the HTC One X10 which arrived way back in July 2017. If this ends up being an HTC One-branded handset, that would end HTC One series’ 2-year hiatus, basically.
Now, the phone with this exact model number, HTC 2Q7A100, actually surfaced on Geekbench back in April this year. The phone Appeared with the Snapdragon 710 64-bit octa-core processor by Qualcomm, one of Qualcomm’s best mid-range offerings. In addition to that, the listing revealed that the device includes 6GB of RAM, and that it will ship with Android 9 Pie out of the box.
So, by the looks of it, HTC is preparing to offer a new mid-range smartphone, though we’re hoping that the company will pay more attention to its price tag this time around, as high price tags are one of HTC’s main obstacles when it comes to sales.
HTC was once the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, but that time has long passed, and the company simply cannot be selling devices at high price tags. The market is extremely competitive these days, and in order to compete with a ton of other smartphone manufacturers, it needs to adapt in general, but its price tags should definitely be adapted first.
We’re not sure when will this smartphone appear, but it is worth noting that another phone, with a similar model number, surfaced on Geekbench earlier this month, the HTC 2Q7A1. That phone includes the Helio P35, 6GB of RAM, and Android 9 Pie.
By the looks of it, HTC may introduce more than one budget smartphone in the coming months, though the Snapdragon 710-powered unit will clearly be the more powerful of the two. The HTC Exodus 2’s release is also coming, though that phone is a completely different story, as it’s a blockchain device.
