HTC has today announced a new flagship smartphone handset, the HTC U12+, cited as the ‘biggest and boldest flagship phone ever’. The device features a 6″ display with cinematic 18:9 widescreen, Edge Sense 2 and dual front- and rear-facing cameras. However, one of the most interesting features has had little fanfare: the HTC U12+ includes virtual reality (VR) features as standard, compatible with the Vive Focus.
The Vive Focus launched in China back in January 2018, with more than 40 software titles available from day one. A western release has been confirmed for the standalone mobile VR device, but no launch date or price point has yet been announced. The HTC U12+, on the other hand, is now available to pre-order worldwide.
The HTC U12+’s VR features include notification sync, allowing the user wearing a Vive Focus to receive notifications and phone calls while immersed in a VR experience. Furthermore, similar to a Chromecast set-up, the HTC U12+ can narrowcast content through ‘mirror mode’ to allow the Vive Focus to act as a personal VR theatre.
The HTC U12+ features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform processor, 6GB RAM standard and up to 128GB storage. The device will launch in North America on 7th June 2018, with prices ranging from $799 USD for the 64GB edition to $849 USD for 128GB. A European date yet to be confirmed, but is expected to parallel North America. The full specifications for the device follow below, verbatim from HTC, and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on HTC’s VR strategy.
HTC U12+ Specifications
DESIGN • Liquid Surface in Translucent Blue, Ceramic Black, and Flame Red (availability varies by region) • New pressure-sensitive buttons and a new touch feedback experience • Ultra-thin borders while easy to hold • Fingerprint reader on back • Size: 156.6 x 73.9 x 8.7-9.7mm1 • Weight: 188g1 • Water & Dust Resistance: IP68
PLATFORM2 • Android™ 8.0 Oreo with HTC Sense™ (upgradeable to Android P2) • HTC Edge Sense 2: o Squeeze to access apps or control the phone o Hold for Smart Rotate and Smart Dim o Double-tap for a mini screen for easy one-handed use, or as a back key or navigation bar o Customizable gestures to launch camera, voice assistant, turn on flashlight, and more
PROCESSOR • Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 Mobile Platform, 64-bit octa-core, up to 2.8GHz
DISPLAY • 6 inch, Quad HD+ (2880 x 1440, 18:9, 537ppi) Super LCD 6 • Corning® Gorilla™ Glass • DCI-P3, sRGB, color personalization • HDR 10 support • Smart display for notifications
MEMORY Availability varies by region
• 6GB RAM (DDR4x)
• 64GB or 128GB storage (UFS 2.1)
• microSD™ (SDHCTM, SDXCTM) expansion supports additional memory cards up to 2TB with Flex Storage (optional cards not included)
CAMERA Main Camera
• 12MP wide-angle camera with HTC UltraPixel™ 4 (1.4µm pixel size, f/1.75)
• 16MP telephoto camera (1.0µm pixel size, f/2.6)
• UltraSpeed Autofocus 2 (phase detection + laser autofocus) • Photos support optical zoom 1.85x to 2x and digital zoom up to 10x
• HDR Boost 2
• Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) + Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS)
• Bokeh mode in realtime
• Dual LED flash
• AR stickers
• Self timer up to 10 seconds
• Face detection
• Pro mode with manual controls, 32-second long exposure, and RAW format support
• Panorama
Front Camera
• Dual 8MP camera (1.12µm pixel size, f/2.0)
• Wide angle with 84° field of view
• Bokeh mode in realtime
• AR stickers
• HDR Boost
• Face unlock
• Screen flash
• Live make-up
• Auto Selfie
• Voice Selfie
• Self timer up to 10 seconds
• Selfie Panorama
VIDEO RECORDING Main Camera
• 4K video recording at 60fps
• Sonic Zoom, Audio Boost, and advanced 360° 3D Audio with 4 microphones
• High quality audio recording, 96KHz, 24-bit
• AR stickers
• 8MP still photo while recording 4K video
• Slow motion video (1080p at 240fps)
• Optical Imagine Stabilization (OIS)
• Hyperlapse
Front Camera
• Full HD 1080p video recording
• AR stickers
SOUND
• HTC USonic with Active Noise Cancellation
• HTC BoomSound™ Hi-Fi edition
• Hi-Res Audio recording
• Hi-Res audio certified
• Qualcomm® aptX™ HD, LDAC™ up to 32-bit high resolution wireless audio via Bluetooth®
VOICE ASSISTANTS
• Always-on listening support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa (where supported)
• Activity Reader automatically reads out SMS messages, calendar events, and incoming caller ID (where supported; headphone compatibility may vary)
SENSORS
• Edge Sensor
• Ambient light sensor
• Proximity sensor
• Motion G-sensor
• Compass sensor
• Gyro sensor
• Magnetic sensor
• Fingerprint sensor
• Sensor Hub for activity tracking
NETWORK3 2G/2.5G GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G UMTS
• AWS/850/900/1900/2100 MHz
• HSDPA 42, HSUPA 5.76
4G LTE™
• Nano SIM or dual Nano SIM with dual LTE (availability varies by region)
• FDD: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 28, 32, 66
• TDD: Bands 38, 39, 40, 41 • Supports Cat 18 Gigabit LTE: downloads up to 1.2Gbps, uploads up to 150Mbps; up to 5CA and 4×4 MIMO (where supported)
• VoLTE and WiFi calling (where supported)
LOCATION
• GPS
• AGPS
• GLONASS
• Galileo
• BeiDou
CONNECTIVITY
• USB 3.1 Gen 1, Type-C
• Bluetooth® 5.0
• Wi-Fi®: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5GHz) with MU-MIMO
• NFC
• Supports DisplayPort over USB Type-C
• HTC Connect™ for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to compatible multiroom audio systems, TVs, portable speakers and home entertainment systems • Streaming media from the phone to compatible AirPlay™, Chromecast, DLNA™, and Miracast™ devices
BATTERY4
• Capacity: 3500mAh5
• Talk time on 3G/4G network: up to 23.8 hours
• Power saving mode
• Extreme power saving mode
• Fast charging with Quick Charge 3.0 charger in box – up to 50% charge in 35 minutes
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
• Always-on voice commands
• Notification LED
• Motion Launch
• Quiet ring on pick-up
• Pocket mode • Flip to mute
Notes:
1. All units of measurement may vary slightly according to manufacturing tolerance.
2. Platform version may be different after software updates. Timing of Android P update to be announced once OS is released to manufacturers.
3. Upload and download speeds also depend on the mobile operator. Network bands vary by mobile operator and location. 4G LTE only available on select networks. Actual upload and download speeds may vary by mobile operator.
4. The battery claims herein may vary based on cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configurations, app and phone usage, and many other factors. Actual results may vary.
5. Battery capacity: Nominal: 3500mAh; Rated: 3420mAh
via Mint VR