HTC’s mobile division apparently isn’t down for the count just yet with new reports surfacing about an event promotional image that’s now been shared by its HTC Taiwan Facebook account. The image is in Chinese and doesn’t provide any significant details about the device itself but does say that a related event will be happening on June 11.
Now, the device in question may very well be the same device that has been spotted cropping up on benchmark sites over the past several months. If that’s the case, the new handset will likely be marketed and sold under the model designation HTC U19e — model number HTC 2Q7A100 in the benchmarks.
There has also been some evidence that another gadget could land bearing a renewal of the company’s once-popular HTC “One” branding, although that speculation is not confirmed yet.
Suspected specs
In terms of deeper details about the HTC U19e and the less certain “One”-branded handset, the benchmarks and leaks surrounding the device have pointed to devices firmly in the mid-range.
The former of the two will reportedly land with a 6-inch 18:9 display set at a Full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, presenting users with Android 9 Pie by default. A new variant of HTC Sense UI would likely be laid over the top of that.
Under the hood, a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC would power the unit, backed by 6GB RAM and a healthy 128GB storage. That combination would make for a moderately powerful device, fit to compete with the best mid-rangers around.
Leaked diagram images showcased on at least one of the leaks stemming from its certification with Taiwan’s NCC indicate that two front-facing cameras will be part of the package. Purple and Green configurations of the gadget are expected to be made available when the HTC U19e launches.
The rumored One-branded handset, discovered via a benchmark under model number HTC 2Q7A1, would be somewhat weaker in terms of its primary processor. That device was spotted bearing the same memory capacity as the HTC U19e and the same variant of Android but was driven by a more budget-friendly MediaTek-built Helio P35 SoC instead.
Down but not out
The announcement of a brand new HTC comes following an abysmal annual and quarterly report for the full year 2018 and the final quarter of that same year. The company has suffered similar losses over the past several years and the world has seen a decreasing level of output on the smartphone front as a result.
So it isn’t at all surprising that every indication points to the company seemingly avoiding the highly competitive and underperforming top tier of the market here.
While it may be tempting to hope that the company might make a comeback beginning with the expected gadget, sales regions where HTC devices are sold have been shrinking too. That’s all combined to create a stigma around the OEM that it has found all but impossible to shake. So there isn’t much chance the device in question will be widely available or compatible with a huge number of service providers regardless of how well it has performed in benchmarks.