HTC unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, U12+, which sees it introducing a new take on its Edge Sense pressure sensing body input and offering both front- and rear-facing dual cameras.

While the device marks an evolution of the struggling vendor’s U11, it is also significant as its first flagship launch since the sale of a chunk of its smartphone unit to Google. The move led to questions about its long-term commitment to the segment as the smartphone pioneer continues to suffer from falling sales.

Eschewing a flashy launch event for a five minute video, the company also opted to use the + modifier in the name, despite the current absence of a standard U12. It is possible a lower-spec sibling may be unveiled later in the year.

The Edge Sense 2 interface, which uses pressure sensors built into the body of the device, enables a number of new inputs, with double tap and hold added to the existing squeeze. Examples given included the use of double tap to shift to a single-handed mode and holding tight while turning the device to control the screen orientation.

HTC also said Edge Sense 2 works with “almost any app in the Google Play Store”.

Camera credentials
In terms of imaging, U12+ pairs 12MP wide-angle “ultrapixel” and 16MP telephoto lenses on the rear, and two 8MP front-facing cameras. The rear units offer 2x optical and 10x digital zoom: the front an 84-degree field of view.

U12+ supports slow motion full HD video recording (1080p at 240fps) and 4K recording at 60fps. It includes optical image stabilisation (OIS) and electronic image stabilisation (EIS).

It is compatible with HTC’s Usonic earbuds and includes the latest incarnation of HTC’s BoomSound speakers.

Three colour options are available, with black and red joined by “translucent blue”, which enables owners to see through to some of the device internals.

The device sports a 6-inch quad-HD+ screen with 18:9 ratio, is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip with 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage (with microSD expansion). It runs Android O, which will upgrade to Android P.