HTC has launched the HTC U11 Life in two variants, one variant running Android 7.1 Nougat with Sense UI and an Android One variant running Android 8.0 Oreo. The HTC U11 Life is priced at US $349 (Rs 22500 approx.) for the unlocked version in the US. There is no official word on its availability in India as of now.
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HTC has launched the HTC U11 Life in two variants, one variant running Android 7.1 Nougat with Sense UI and an Android One variant running Android 8.0 Oreo. The HTC U11 Life is priced at US $349 (Rs 22500 approx.) for the unlocked version in the US. There is no official word on its availability in India as of now.
Following up the launch of the flagship phone, the HTC U11+, the HTC U11 Life will be a part of the ‘U’ lineup from HTC and pegged as a mid-range device. The HTC U11 Life will offer the consumers a choice between custom skin and pure stock Android OS without compromising on any other aspect. The HTC U11 Life has HTC’s new “liquid surface” design language with two glossy panels that meld into a metal frame.
The HTC U11 Life has a 5.2 inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution which translates to a 16:9 aspect ratio. The HTC U11+ also has Corning Gorilla Glass on top of the display.
Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage which can be expanded via microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the home button that is placed below the 5.2 inch display. The 3.5mm headphone jack is missing on the U11 Life but, the box will include a pair of USB C earphones with active noise canceling. Powering the device is a small 2600 mAh battery.
The HTC U11 Life has a 16MP rear-mounted camera with an f/2.0 aperture and PDAF. Similar to the HTC U11+, the camera records 4K and slo-mo videos as well. On the front of the device is a 16 MP fixed focus sensor with an f/2.0 aperture which records 1080P videos.
The Edge Sense feature from the U11 retains its place with new features and more customisability. With the HTC U11 Life, you can assign a light squeeze to access Google Assistant, and a hard squeeze to access the Amazon Alexa and vice versa. The squeeze feature is now a remappable button and can perform specific tasks depending on which app you’re in. If you have the YouTube app, you can remap the squeeze to take you to the subscriptions window or if you are in Google Maps, you squeeze to zoom in or zoom out. HTC has also added a new radial menu which can be accessed with a squeeze. It is a round shaped menu which customises on the basis of your usage.
HTC sent out invites for an event to be held on the 2nd of November in Taiwan. The event indicates that a new smartphone will be announced as a part of the ‘U’ lineup.
It was speculated that two devices, a mid-range device, the U11 Life and a flagship smartphone, the U11 Plus will be announced at the event. However, it appears that just the budget oriented HTC U11 Life will be announced at the event.
https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/921835321167368192
The smartphone is expected to have a 5.2-inch display, a Snapdragon 630 chipset, and 16MP cameras on the front and back. It is expected to be launched in two variants, one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and another with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Leaked images suggest the smartphone will have a shiny blue back which has become a HTC signature. The price is expected to be around US$400 (Rs 26000 approx.), which will be on par with another Android One device, the Moto X4.
HTC announcing a new smartphone may come as a surprise to a few people after a co operative agreement between Google and HTC was announced in September. As per the agreement, HTC’s smartphone division personnel will work for Google and Google will also get its hands on a few patents albeit non-exclusively. But, the air of uncertainty around the future of HTC smartphones was cleared in the post-agreement statement, Google said:
This agreement also supports HTC’s continued branded smartphone strategy, enabling a more streamlined product portfolio, greater operational efficiency and financial flexibility. HTC will continue to have best-in-class engineering talent, which is currently working on the next flagship phone, following the successful launch of the HTC U11 earlier this year.
The event is scheduled for the 2nd of November and iGyaan will bring you all the news from the event.
HTC is hosting an event on 2nd of November in Taiwan and sent out invitations to local media which might hint towards what is possibly coming.
As can be seen in the event invite, the large “U” at the top might be a hint towards new smartphones which could will be a part of HTC’s U lineup. Over the past few weeks, there have been several leaks suggesting that HTC is working on two smartphones: a mid-range device for Google’s Android One program, and a flagship device which will succeed the HTC U11. It is not clear whether both the phones will be unveiled on 2nd of November or not.
The mid-range Android One smartphone could be called the U11 Life. The smartphone will have a 5.2-inch display, a Snapdragon 630 chipset, and 16MP cameras on the front and back. It is expected to be launched in two variants, one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and another with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Leaked images suggest the smartphone will have a shiny blue back which has become a HTC signature. The price is expected to be around US$400 (Rs 26000 approx.), which will be on par with another Android One device, the Moto X4.
The flagship smartphone is expected to be called the U11 Plus and will be the bigger and better version of the HTC U11. The smartphone is rumoured to have a 6-inch display, with a 2880 x 1440 resolution, and an 18:9 aspect radio. It is expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 12MP rear camera, and IP68 water resistance. Just like the U11 Life, the U11 Plus will be launched in two variants, one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and another with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The specifications do sound very similar to the Google Pixel 2 XL but, it is becoming harder to differentiate between flagship smartphones by looking at just the specifications. One huge difference between the two phones will obviously be the HTC Sense UI and stock Android OS.
In September, it was announced that a cooperation agreement between Google and HTC meant that HTC’s smartphone division was bought by Google for US$1.1 billion. iGyaan reported that despite the deal, HTC will continue making smartphones and the upcoming event will certainly lift the curtain over the next big thing in HTC’s portfolio.