A guest checks her mobile as she arrives for the launch of new HTC products - the HTC desire eye smartphone, RE camera and RE eye experience software - in New York October 8, 2014.
A guest checks her mobile as she arrives for the launch of new HTC products - the HTC desire eye smartphone, RE camera and RE eye experience software - in New York October 8, 2014. Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

HTC is set to unveil its new line of products in an event on January 12. The Taiwanese electronics company is expected to launch a host of items that include virtual reality (VR) accessories, smartwatches and mobile devices. Unfortunately for HTC (but fortunately for fans), information and videos of its new line-up of smartphones have been leaked and made known ahead of its scheduled launch.

Insider Evan Blass posted on his Twitter profile a couple of HTC promo videos that show the company’s next endeavours. The most interesting thing to see, though, is a smartphone branded after HTC’s famous VR headset. An HTC Vive phone just might highlight HTC’s big reveal, which could further boost its VR prowess.

In the first video, HTC says it’s “changing things up” in a market “oversaturated with similar products.” The company hints that it’s aiming for personalisation and customisation with its new handsets. The video ends with the female model grabbing an HTC Vive-branded phone and putting it on her ear.

According to TechRadar, if the HTC Vive phone does push through, a mobile VR headset is a strong possibility that could follow right behind. An HTC Vive phone backed by the company’s new VR developing unit, Vive Studios, will surely be embraced by fans old and new.

The second leaked video shows a couple strolling around a scenic urban area. Both the man and the woman take turns tapping and rubbing the side edges of a phone, which appears to be an HTC Ocean handset. The woman even launches the camera app without pressing the touchscreen display.

Here’s hoping that HTC officially launches the phones shown in both videos as actual products, not just concept items or prototypes. Rumour has it that HTC is set to unveil only mid-range handsets at the January 12 conference. If so, fans will have to wait for Mobile World Congress (MWC 2017), which shall take place in Barcelona between February 27 and March 2, to get a hold of the Ocean Master, the Ocean Note, the Ocean Smart or even the HTC Vive phone.

READ: HTC Vive Tracker launch details: Ingenious utility that turns any object into a VR controller set for Q2 release [VIDEO]

READ: HTC officially denies Vive 2 reports: No wireless and 4K VR headset to be revealed at CES 2017

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