HTC's 2018 flagship U12+ leaks with bezel-less display, Snapdragon 845 SoC

HTC launched its flagship smartphones HTC U11 and U11 Plus last year; though they are fabulous devices, the phones were apparently overshadowed by the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Google Pixel 2 series. However, the Taiwanese smartphone maker looks to change that this time with HTC U12 Plus, the successor of the U11 and U11 Plus.

HTC is reportedly working hard on the U12 Plus, and now we have some proof to go along with that, all thanks to a leaked render from renowned tipster Evan Blass. Though, it's a little hard to tell from the leaked picture if the phone is the same as the rumored HTC U12 prototype showcased at a 5G event in Taiwan, or it it's a different model altogether

HTC's upcoming flagship dubbed U12 – and codenamed "Imagine" - was previously rumored to be launched at MWC 2018, but the company seems to be putting in some extra effort and taking its time to make sure its flagship device won't be overlooked, especially at a time when the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are stealing all the limelight.

The smartphone in the image looks every bit the 2018 flagship device that one would expect it to be. It sports a large bezel-less display and a dual-camera setup at the back. There's also a dual-camera setup at the front and a circular fingerprint sensor placed right below the rear camera module.

The phone does appear to borrow some design cues from its predecessors, the U11 and U11 Plus. However, it now has a dual camera setup at the back which is positioned horizontally. Along with the flash and the fingerprint sensor below, the back of the device gives the look of a surprised robot face.

If rumors and leaks are to be believed, the HTC U12 Plus will have specs that are in line with other top-end devices, and Blass points us to HTC custom ROM developer LlabtooFeR, who had revealed the specs a few days ago on Twitter.

According to the leaked specs, the U12 Plus will mark HTC's return to the dual-camera smartphone game in a big way. The device will sport two 8MP selfie cameras at the front and a 12MP + 16MP dual camera setup at the back.

The HTC U12 Plus is expected to feature a 6-inch LCD display with QHD+ resolution (2560×1440 pixels), which means it will be an 18:9 aspect ratio panel. It will be powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 chipset along with 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. However, early rumors also hint at a 64GB storage variant.

LlabTooFeR also suggested that the U12 Plus features HTC's Face Sense, which is HTC's take on Apple's FaceID and Samsung's Intelligent Scan facial recognition systems. 

And just in case we forgot, the phone will also feature HTC's Edge Sense 2.0, aka the "squeeze" feature which basically lets you launch apps and shortcuts by squeezing the sides of the phone.

Other specs include a hefty 3,420mAh battery, IP68 water and dust resistance and Android Oreo out of the box with HTC Sense 10 custom UI on top.

Meanwhile, Blass opines that HTC may have intentionally used the "Plus" moniker to make it sound closer to the Galaxy S9 Plus, since the device will directly compete with the Galaxy S9 Plus. Interestingly, he suggests that a regular HTC U12 that'll compete with the Galaxy S9 might never see the light of day.

As far as the launch date of the phone is concerned, HTC reportedly encountered some glitches during the development of the phone and seems to have pushed the release of the U12 Plus back to sometime in May. The device was previously rumored to be launched latest by April.