HTC U11 ‘Squeezable Smartphone’ to Launch in India Today

Monika kesharwani Jun 19, 2017 263

HTC is all set to launch the HTC U11 in India today. The smartphone’s big attraction is its Edge Sense feature that promises to bring a complete new way of interacting with the device, making it ’squeezable’. The HTC U11 will be launched at an event in Delhi, where the price in India and availability information will be revealed.

The HTC U11 smartphone was launched in Taiwan last month. To recall, price of the HTC U11 starts at EUR 749 (roughly Rs. 53,000) for Europe, and in the US it’s at $749 (roughly Rs. 48,000). A recent leak claims that India will get the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the HTC U11.

What’s this buzz around ‘squeezable’ handset?

In a first for any smartphone, the HTC U11 can be operated using squeeze-based interactions. Inspired by the ‘human touch’, the device has been named “U”11 — implying a focus on you, rather than it.

The HTC Sense Edge or the squeeze feature, introduced first by HTC in the U11 flagship smartphone, makes use of an array of pressure sensors embedded on both sides of the smartphone. These recognise a ‘squeeze’ action to deliver app-specific features. For example, a single squeeze could open the camera and another squeeze click pictures. The squeeze feature could be customised to offer single-click or double-click commands, based on user preferences, to deliver the desired results.

HTC U11 Specifications

HTC U11 runs on Android 7.1 Nougat with the company’s HTC Sense skin on top, and it comes with support for dual-SIM cards (Nano-SIM). It features a 5.5-inch Quad HD (1440×2560 pixels) Super LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 The HTC U11 is powered by a 2.45GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. There are two storage and memory variant – 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage and 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage. Only the latter variant is tipped to be coming to India, though we will know for sure only after the launch event. The HTC U11 also offers storage expansion via a microSD card slot (up to 2TB).
As for optics, the HTC U11 sports a 12-megapixel camera with 1.4-micron pixel, ultra spread autofocus, BSI sensor, OIS, f/1.7 aperture, dual-LED flash, slow-motion, and 4K video recording. Camera features include Face Detection, Pro mode with manual control, 32-second long exposure, and RAW format support, HDR Boost, Panorama, and Hyperlapse. The HTC U11 has a 16-megapixel front camera with BSI sensor, full-HD recording. Front camera features include live make-up, auto selfie, voice selfie, HDR Boost, and Selfie Panorama. The HTC U11 packs a 3000mAh battery that is rated to offer up to 24.5 hours of talk time, and 14 days of standby time. There’s also an extreme power saving mode, and Quick Charge 3.0 support. Connectivity options include GPS/ A-GPS, GLONASS, USB 3.1 Type-C port, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz & 5GHz), and NFC support.

The HTC U11 also sports IP67 water and dust resistance and is Hi-Res audio certified. The fingerprint scanner is housed underneath the Home Button in the front. With respect to design, HTC U11 retains the U Ultra’s design language and sports 3D glass both on the front and back of the device. The device has no 3.5mm audio jack, just like the HTC U Ultra, and the company is bundling a 3.5mm audio jack to USB Type-C adapter.

U touch – HTC Edge Sense

Few things are as natural and intuitive as the sense of touch. HTC Edge Sense transforms this fundamental sense into a completely new and revolutionary interaction with your phone. With a simple squeeze, HTC Edge Sense lets you easily engage with your phone in an unprecedented yet intuitive way, helping you more naturally enjoy the things you love like taking photos, opening Facebook, or launching any of your favourite apps.
For example, with HTC Edge Sense, launching your camera has never been easier. No more fumbling for buttons or awkward hand positions. No more worrying about dropping your phone while you pose. Just lift, squeeze, smile, and snap.
You can also send texts faster and easier than before. Texting can be impossible when you are on the move, but using HTC Edge Sense for Voice to Text, you can speak your text messages without having to slow down. Lightly squeeze, speak your message and send your texts on the go.
You can even customize the squeeze gesture: open email with just a squeeze. Or launch your favorite game (or any other app). Or pick any one of a host of options. Want even more touch control? HTC Edge Sense gives you the ability to activate advanced touch and use a “short squeeze” as well as a “squeeze and hold” for even more functionality at your fingertips.
And because Edge Sense is based on actual pressure applied to the side of the device, it can be used in nearly any condition – including while wearing gloves or in weather such as snow or rain that would normally be a challenge with capacitive buttons.

Reflects U – Liquid Surface

HTC U11 features liquid glass surface, which is crafted using Optical Spectrum Hybrid Deposition – a process in which highly refractive minerals are used to create layers that together forms the phone’s back cover.
The new seamless, curved look of HTC U11 is achieved with 3D glass on both front and back. Heating and then bending the glass using extreme pressure results in unique, 3-axis symmetry for a phone that is slim no matter which way you hold it.
HTC U11 has a 5.5-inch quad HD 3D glass screen designed for vivid, crisp images and text in any light – even direct sunlight. The display renders true-to-life colours for purer full-framed viewing experience. The display avoids the cropped pictures or distorted colours at the edge that are the results you can expect from a curved screen.
Plus, HTC U11 is water-resistant, so no need to worry about splashes, spills, or dunks

Powerful U – Processor, RAM and Storage

HTC U11 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. Every HTC U11 also includes UFS 2.1 for an extremely fast processor paired with the fastest memory performance. Experience Gigabit Class LTE (up to 1Gbps) with the integrated Snapdragon X16 LTE modem, which is designed to deliver fiber optic speeds on the go for lightning-fast music and video downloads and to get almost instant access to the web, social media sites or your content in the cloud. You get 25% faster graphics than the HTC 10, with 35% or 3 hours more video playback, 30% or 8 hours more music playback and 43% or 3.5 hours longer web browsing time via a LTE network6.
A blazing fast processor with amazing camera and incredible HTC USonic sound means you’ll want a lot of storage for apps, games, photos, music, and entertainment: HTC U11 offers 4GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage options, so fun on your phone is always available.
HTC U11 also offers a fingerprint reader for enhanced privacy and security. Requiring just a few minutes to set up, the fingerprint reader will unlock your phone with the press of your finger – making it faster and easier to jot the note, capture the photo, or do anything you want with your phone on a moment’s notice.

The smarter digital companion for U – HTC Sense Companion, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa

HTC U11 offers three intelligent companions devoted to you: HTC Sense Companion, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. In mainland China, HTC U11 also offers Baidu DuerOS.
HTC Sense Companion smarter than ever: It will get to know you and your daily patterns over time in order to offer you more convenience every day. For example, HTC Sense Companion is smart enough to notice if you have any late appointments that day and will remind you to recharge while you have time or bring a power bank. It will make sure your phone is running at its optimum speed by suggesting to clear junk files and unused apps for more free space. It will let you know if you need to dress for inclement weather conditions, track your fitness progress relative to your goals, recommend great nearby restaurants at mealtime, and much more.
HTC U11 runs the latest version of Android, so it also includes Google Assistant, the helpful personal assistant powered by Google se arch and services for finding directions, getting answers, managing your tasks, planning your day, and entertainment.
HTC U11 is also the first smartphone on the market to feature hands-free wake word access to Amazon Alexa. By simply asking questions such as “Alexa, what’s the weather today?” or saying things like, “Alexa, turn on my living room lights,” Alexa will respond to your needs anywhere you go, making it easy to control smart home products, ask for news, weather, music, and the 12,000-plus skills in the Alexa skills store. The Alexa voice service is currently available to customers in the United States, U.K., and Germany.
And in mainland China, HTC and Baidu DuerOS have built a strategic partnership to create a voice-based virtual assistant with speech recognition and voice interaction to satisfy Chinese users’ needs, which can better understand Chinese people and help them find what they want.