While all major tech companies are showing interest in the upcoming International Consumer Electronics Show 2017 from January 5 to 8, HTC seems to have some plans of its own.
The Taiwanese tech titan has sent out invites for an exclusive event a week after CES on January 12, which only shows the company's intention to be under the spotlight when it unveils the next product. There will be several launches happening at the major electronics show and HTC doesn't want to be lost in the crowd.
The invite doesn't give away much, but HTC says it will be unveiling something "for U" and, by you, it means the consumers. There are several possibilities and hints at what can be launched at the upcoming event, but nothing is for certain.
Whatever it is, the company thinks it is better to have a separate event for this and not share the stage with other companies at the CES 2017, which gives the new product a sense of importance. Since the product is meant "for U", we are hoping for something great.
Let's start by guessing the obvious.
Is it going to be a smartphone?
That's going to be the safest guess as there have been several rumours about the launch of HTC X10 mid-range smartphone in January. The HTC One X9 successor is going to bring premium features at an affordable cost, but not something we haven't already seen in existing phones in the market.
According to the rumours, the HTC X10 will sport a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a 13MP primary camera with OIS, a 2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 chipset and 3GB RAM. The price of the handset is expected to be around ¥2,000, which is roughly Rs. 19,500.
If we are considering the possibility of the rumours being true, then reports have suggested that HTC might also bring its next flagship HTC 11. The specs of the unannounced HTC 11 include a 5.5-inch 2K display, a 12MP dual primary camera, and an 8MP front snapper. Under the hood, it is expected to pack a Snapdragon 835 chipset, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, a 3,700mAh battery and Android 7.0 Nougat-based Sense 8 UI. But we are not placing our bets of seeing HTC 11 on January 12.
Virtual reality push?
HTC has shown keen interest in virtual reality, thanks to its dedicated Vive Studios. The company's Vive VR headset is one of the best we've seen in the market and the company has been working extensively on bringing VR content for the device. So yes, we are expecting to see HTC dive into the details of its next VR push alongside the smartphone launch (if it so happens).
No matter what the company is going to announce next month, we will be there to cover it and bring you the latest coverage. Stay tuned.
