HTC U details revealed by 29-page presentation

Details regarding the upcoming HTC U has been tricking in over the past few weeks, but today we have been inundated with an overwhelming amount of information. Android Headlines has managed to get a hold of an internal HTC document from late 2016 which highlights most of the phone’s hardware specifications while giving us a close look at how the HTC U’s Edge Sense gesture recognition will work.

There’s a lot to go through, but we want to remind you that there’s no guarantee that any of the information revealed by this leak will accurately represent the final product that HTC releases. The document shows that it was for a presentation in 2016, but there’s no indication of how old the information actually is. At this point, we can assume that these details are at least three month old.

Let’s jump in!

HTC U Internal presentation

Below are all the slides from the HTC U presentation. You can read through each slide individually, but we also recommend reading our highlights for additional context for most of the content shown in the slides.

• HTC U specifications: the presentation reveals that the HTC U will be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and will have two variants which will feature 4GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage and a second with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Other specifications include a 3,000 mAh battery, Quick Charge 3.0, 5.5-inch WQHD screen with 3D Gorilla Glass 5, a fingerprint sensor that’s integrated into the home button, 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 and an Ultrapixel front-facing camera.Note the references to Quick Charge 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.2. These two features may change since Quick Charge 4.0 and Bluetooth 5.0 were no announced at the time.

• HTC Edge Sense: it looks like some of the features which were first shown off in the HTC Ocean sizzle reel in late 2016 (video below) will finally be making their debut with the introduction of the HTC U. The Edge Sense technology can be activated with the phone on or off with short or long squeezes. Images of the setup screen show that users will be able to customize which of the phones features to activate with different squeezes.

  Note that there is no reference to different Edge controls which we’ve seen, showing users swiping their finger along the phone’s edge to navigate through shortcuts, snap pictures by pressing the edge of the phone or turning down the phone’s volume. The fact that they are not mentioned here does not mean that they will not be included in the final product.

• HTC U Camera: since the most praised feature of the Pixel and Pixel XL is the HDR+ camera setting, it shouldn’t be surprising to see that HTC is working on its own version of the feature for the HTC U. One of the slides from the presentation implies that users will what the HRD+ image will look like in real time within the camera app before taking the picture.While recording video, the HTC U will also record lossless, hi-res, 3D audio with four different microphones which are positioned at various points around the phone. The intro slide to the camera features also mentions “smart video zoom,” but there are no additional details mentioned.

• HTC U Audio capabilities: HTC’s flagship phones have come with exception audio capabilities for years and that doesn’t look like it will change with the HTC U. The device will feature BoomSound with dual speakers and USonic audio over USB Type-C headphones. Unfortunately, this means that the HTC U will not have a 3.5mm headphone jack.

• HTC Sense Link: The HTC U will have the ability to easily connect to your computer over WiFi. Dubbed Sense Link, the feature will allow the HTC U to access files on your computer, back up photos or other content, view the phone’s notifications on the PC, share links from the device to the PC and more while connected to the same WiFi network. Sense Link doesn’t sound much different than Pushbullet which features similar functionality.

• HTC Sense Companion: there’s really no new information regarding the HTC Sense Companion, but the presentation shows that the Sense Companion on the HTC U will give users restaurant recommendations, highlights points of interest based on location, estimate the time needed to get your next appointment, show you the weather forecast, remind you to bring along a portable charger when you have appointments late in the day, keep track of your step count for the day and more.