HTC U11 Specs And Price Beat Predecessors In Sales; Company Hopes For Market Rebound In 2018

The HTC U11 smartphone has been on the market for about one month and reports indicate it is selling well. HTC recently announced to at a shareholders meeting, that the HTC U11 is selling better than its predecessor flagships, the HTC 10 and the HTC One M9, according to Focus Taiwan.

HTC has struggled with sales for several years. One of its last successful smartphones was the HTC One M8, which released in 2014. Despite launching a host of other devices, including the HTC One A9, in addition to the aforementioned premium models, the Taiwanese brand hasn’t been able to capture consumers. Meanwhile, rivals such as Samsung, Huawei, and Apple have doubled down on standout design, camera and AI features to continued commercial success.

Read: HTC U11 Announced: Comes With Amazon's Alexa, Squeezable Frame & 12MP Camera

However, the HTC U11 brings to the market, its own special feature, a squeezing mechanism, which allows users to launch apps and execute functions by simply squeezing the sides of the handset. The device features several sensors along its sides to allow this capability. The squeeze gesture is customizable and will receive an update in July to add more functionality with the Edge Sense application.

With sales of the HTC U11 going well, HTC is looking forward to a promising upturn, telling shareholders it expects financial results to improve by 2018. Despite the launch of the HTC U11, the manufacturer plans to cut its smartphone releases from four handsets yearly to three, in an effort to reduce costs.

HTC will also continue to focus on its virtual reality sector, which has excelled. The HTC Vive is considered one of the best VR headsets on the market. The company is also putting more research and development efforts into 5G, ahead of its planned introduction to the market in 2020.

Read: HTC Vive vs. Oculus Rift vs. Samsung Gear VR vs. PlayStation VR

The HTC U11 has seen favorable reviews, which could be a good indicator of future consumer success for the handset. The device features a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (6GB RAM/128GB storage options in certain markets), plus up to 2TB of expandable storage. It’s 12-megapixel camera with f/1.7 aperture, currently has top ratings on the DxOMark benchmark, beating out the HTC 10 and the Google Pixel, which was quietly manufactured by HTC. Additionally, the device features a 16-megapixel front camera with a 150-degree wide-angle lens.

Other features include a 3,000mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0 support, an IP67 water and dust resistance rating and Android 7.1.1 Nougat, as well as solar red, amazing silver, brilliant black, ice white and sapphire blue color options.