HTC's Halfbreak Android Wear Smartwatch Leaks In New Set Of Photos

HTC’s still unannounced smartwatch, codenamed Halfbreak, has leaked again in a new set of photos. The upcoming wearable has been rumored for a long time and it first surfaced online back in October.

Like with the previous leak from last year, the photos of the HTC Halfbreak show a very similar smartwatch. The device comes with a circular display with two physical buttons on the right side and a rubber watch strap.

On the back, HTC’s logo is accompanied by Urban Armour’s logo. The photo of the back also gives everyone a clear look at the heart rate sensor, as well as a set of four metallic pins which are presumably for charging the device.

The HTC Halfbreak shown in the photos also appears to be running an older version of Android Wear and Google Play services from 2015, as pointed out by Android Authority. Android Wear 2.0 is rumored to launch next month on Feb. 9, which is why it’s a bit odd that this device isn’t running a pre-release version of that software.

The HTC smartwatch has been rumored ever since Google first announced Android Wear back in 2014. HTC never released an Android Wear smartwatch in 2015 and 2016, and it was also reported that the device may have already been shelved, according to Android Headlines.

It’s being speculated that the HTC Halfbreak smartwatch might be officially unveiled during this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain which kicks of on Feb. 27. With Android Wear 2.0 already being out for a couple of weeks by then, the timing makes a lot of sense.

Looking at the big picture however, HTC’s plan to release a smartwatch this year could be a bad idea. Smartwatch sales have struggled in the past year, and the company faces heavy competition with the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG and Fitbit.