Squeeze it and Take it!

HTC has finally unveiled their flagship for 2017, the HTC U11. The successor to HTC 10 and a new member of the U family, HTC U11 comes with a standout feature dubbed Edge Sense. So now instead of tapping on the screen, you just need to squeeze the phone to execute specific actions.

Though the new phone holds curvy looks, HTC U11 is just a mixture of the HTC U and HTC U Play. The new phone sports a 5.5-inch, Quad HD display, Snapdragon 835 processor, and new glass and metal design.

However, the highlight of this device is the new technology that has been crafted by the company to squeeze your phone. The Edge Sense can be configured to do a variety of tasks with either short or long squeeze. For example, you can set a short squeeze to open the camera and then take a picture when the camera app is open. On the other hand, a long squeeze can be configured to launch the Google voice assistant or toggle the flashlight on and off.

Edge sense on the HTC U11 also works with bumper cases and soft cases and gloves but not with hard cases.

For the curious ones, the phone doesn’t actually flex when you squeeze your phone. The metal sides have pressure sensors just below the volume and power keys, and also an on-screen cue when you’re activating the feature.

Nigel Newby-House, the vice president of product planning for HTC America, says that “this is just the first glimpse into future functionality for Edge Sense” and the company will expand the feature in the future.

Other features:

On the camera front, the rear camera of the HTC 11 has a 12 million Ultrapixel camera and a large pixel size of 1.4Qm and f 1.7 aperture, an Ultra Speed AF sensor, OIS and EIS. This device has a 6-lens system on it. It also has a 16MP, Ultra pixel low light performance camera that’s also capable of clicking 150-degree wide angle selfies. It’s also has a fixed focus on it. F2.0.

Packed with Qualcomm’s latest processor, HTC U11 comes with a 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with support for microSD cards, and a 3,000mAh battery. The U11 is also rated for IP67 water and dust resistance.

HTC U11 has also ditched the 3.5mm audio jack and instead comes with U-sonic headphones, which now combines Active Noise Cancellation with the ability to tune audio to your unique hearing. However, users can connect the headphones with USB type-C.

In addition to the Google Assistant that comes with Android, it also has HTC’s Sense Companion and support for Amazon’s Alexa assistant.

HTC U11 will be available from June 9, however, if you’re interested, you can preorder the phone. The phone comes with a price tag of $696, and if you preorder the phone, you will get two Amazon Echo Dots for free.