HTC U 11 can be squeezed; Geekbench scores close to Samsung Galaxy S8

If latest reports are to be believed, the HTC U 11 is already in the works. This is great news for fans who were not that impressed by the HTC U Play and U Ultra handsets, announced earlier this year.

A lot is making rounds regrading this flagship from HTC. Now, enthusiasts have something to cheer about, thanks to recent benchmarks. Recently, the HTC U 11 was reportedly spotted on Geekbench, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. The handset is said to be running on the Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system with RAM power of 4GB. There have been whispers in the air that HTC will launch this flagship on May 16, though nothing is confirmed as of now.

While the revealed specs seem to be pretty standard for today’s smartphones, though there is something interesting about the Geekbench scores. The U 11 managed a score of 1,912 for single-core and 6,137 for multi-core. This has surprised many enthusiasts as the score are pretty close to the SD 835-powered Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. The Samsung flagship managed a score of 1,915 and 6,106 respectively. However, benchmark scores are never a true measure of a smartphone’s capabilities. Things like optimised software are also equally important.

In a recent video teaser shared by HTC, the company revealed that the flagship will come loaded with a new Edge Sense feature. This feature will reportedly be incorporated at the side edges of the screen. Users can interact by squeezing the edge of the phone frame. According to The Mobile Indian, the handset will be available in two variants, a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option and a 6GB RAM and 128GB storage option. The HTC U 11 appeared on the benchmarking site AnTuTu site exactly a month ago.

The squeeze technology in the handset will allow it to understand user’s touch and pressure on the side. This has been made possible by touch sensors embedded into the phone’s side frames. HTC sent out a flyer with the tagline, “Squeeze for the brilliant U.” In fact, leaked footage of the device with customisable features, accessed via sensors in the metal frame, first surfaced in September 2016. Then, it was thought to be the HTC Ocean. A number of reports confirmed that the leaks were a real deal, and not just a concept art.

All eyes are on May 16, when HTC is expected to unveil the HTC U 11. Till then, stay tuned on IBT AU for more updates on the HTC flagship.