We don't know when HTC's squeezable U11 will go on sale or where, but we now know how much it will cost: $999. The move is both surprising and welcome, given that HTC's last three high-end devices have all launched with four digit price tags.
The U11's key new feature is "Edge Sense", which ostensibly lets you squeeze the phone to trigger an action. There's haptic sensors embedded in the bottom half of the aluminum frame, and these can differentiate between a long squeeze and a short squeeze. Out of the box, a short squeeze will open up the camera. Long squeeze is off by default. Both gestures can be customised to open almost any app, launch Google Assistant, or toggle a quick setting (like the flashlight or your personal hot spot).
Other notable inclusions include IP67 water-resistance, and a 12MP rear-facing camera which sensor quality tester DxOMark has given its top score to date. It his however worth noting that DxOMark's tests specifically look at sensor quality, rather than real world usage. We spent a bit of time with a U11 camera this morning though, and the results were promising.
Other key specifications include a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 16MP selfie camera, a front-facing fingerprint reader, and a 3,000mAh battery. The U11 runs a lightly customised version of Android Nougat.
You can read more about the U11 here.
Alex Choros
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