Taiwanese mobile maker HTC has announced that its flagship HTC 10 smartphone will be launched at an event on April 12. Simultaneous events will be held in New York, London and Taipei at 1p.m. GMT. The hashtag #powerof10 is being used to promote the event.
Streaming presentation to take place April 12
Apparently the events will be online only but there has been no announcement on where to watch it. Invitations have been sent to the press.
The new smartphone will boast a 5.2-inch Quad HD display with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip. Initial benchmarking tests show that the chip is among the fastest, and it will run Android Marshmallow 6.0.
The inclusion of 4GB of RAM means that the HTC 10 measures up well against rivals in the high-end smartphone sector, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Apple iPhone 6s. The HTC 10 will come with either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage as standard, while the inclusion of a microSD slot means that you can add more space when necessary.
Camera module important for success of HTC 10
HTC has included a 12MP rear camera with UltraPixel 2 sensor, laser auto focus and an optically stabilized f/1.8 lens. A 5MP UltraPixel camera is included on the front of the smartphone.
The HTC 10 will include a 00mah battery and a USB Type C port, as well as a fingerprint scanner to be used for payment and security. The new handset boasts a sleek metal body, which means there are no front-facing speakers, but Boomsound software audio enhancement remains.
With the launch of the new smartphone HTC is aiming to regain some of its lost market share. The company was once the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, but the recent releases of the A9 and X9 smartphones damaged its reputation.
Crowded market to prove a challenge for HTC
Neither the tech press nor consumers were impressed with the phones, and they have been widely criticized. The new handset looks largely similar to the A9, with the circular home button underneath the display.
The HTC 10 will enter a crowded market dominated by the traditional big dogs, Apple and Samsung, with their respective iPhone and Galaxy series. Innovation continues apace and the latest smartphones boast incredible power.
An increasing amount of people use smartphones as the only way that they access the internet, and they really are becoming nearly as useful as laptop computers. HTC has its work cut out to stand out from the crowd.
Commentators are concerned that the company did not follow its usual pattern of announcing its flagship smartphone at the Mobile World Congress show in late February. The delay has been seen as further evidence of the company’s struggles.
However some industry analysts are excited by the HTC 10, and company executives have claimed that it will boast a “very, very compelling” camera. The company is also gaining plaudits for its HTC Vive virtual-reality system.
The HTC 10 is going to have to be very good to gain market share, especially after yesterday’s announcement of the 4-inch iPhone SE. Apple announced the smaller, cheaper version of its smartphone, lauding it as the most powerful 4-inch device ever.
The stage is set for a battle royale in the smartphone market, so the HTC 10 needs to be “very, very compelling.”
