New HTC U Smartphone Rumored To Come With Frame-Embedded Sensors

A new rumor is circulating that HTC will be releasing a new smartphone that’s currently codenamed “Ocean.” The device is believed to be simply called HTC U when it launches, and will feature a frame that’s embedded with sensors.

The HTC U will be the third model in the “U” line of smartphones joining the U Play and the U Ultra which were announced back in January, according to VentureBeat reporter and notorious leaker Evan Blass. He also reported that the upcoming device will feature a 5.5-inch WQHD display, will run Android 7.1 Nougat and will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor.

Although those specifications are already impressive, the real main feature of the HTC U will apparently be called Edge Sense. The handset will have an array of sensors embedded in its frame which will be able detect gestures.

Edge Sense will allow users to control the HTC U by swiping the left and right sides of the device. Blass also says that one of the gestures will include squeezing the device. Blass actually shared a leaked promo of the Edge Sense feature back in September 2016 and also this past January on Twitter, but at the time it was called Sense Touch.

The video shows that users will be able to have volume control by sliding the sides of the HTC U. The user interface is also shown being capable of detecting contextual changes by placing the location of the volume control in a different position when the phone is in landscape.

Adding gesture controls on the edges/frame of the HTC U does make sense. Smartphones that are larger than 5 inches are usually difficult to use with one hand, and Edge Sense seems to be HTC’s solution to that problem.

As for other features, the HTC U will run Sense 9 UI on top of Android 7.1, a 16MP front-facing camera, a 12MP rear-facing camera and 64GB/128GB internal storage options. There’s also microSD card support for expanding storage.

The HTC U is expected to be officially be announced some time in April, and will be released worldwide in early May. There’s no mention of whether it will be sold through carriers in the U.S. The HTC U Ultra has been ignored by U.S. carriers, and has forced HTC to sell the handset unlocked on its website for $749, as pointed out by Android Authority.