This year’s IFA tech show is turning out to be surprisingly mobile focused, with Samsung, Nokia, Huawei, Sony, and now HTC all scheduling press events. HTC’s confirmation is something of a surprise, partly because in the past the company hasn’t had much of a presence at IFA, but also because it’s a fan of separate events, proven by the introduction of the HTC One M8 for Windows earlier this week.
A moody, atmospheric invitation to an HTC breakfast has started to appear online, letting us know all will be revealed early in the morning on September 4, the day before the show doors officially open. We’re told only to save the date, and that we’ll “see what’s next for smartphones,” on the day.
That leaves it down to us to speculate on what we’ll see. Perhaps the rumored HTC A11 could make its debut. The phone leaked in mid-August, and is expected to use one of Qualcomm’s brand new 64-bit processors, the Snapdragon 410, if the leak is correct. The other specs are a little ordinary – a 4.7-inch, 854 x 480 pixel screen, and a 5-megapixel camera – so it may wear the Desire name.
The invite explicitly tells us we’ll learn about smartphones, so any discussion about the HTC Volantis/Flounder tablet – linked with being the Nexus 9 – seems to be off the table. HTC has been busy launching a variety of phones over the past few days, including the aforementioned One M8 for Windows, and the Android-based Butterfly 2.
All these phones are currently designed for specific markets or networks, which could mean HTC has some international versions of both in the works. The One M8 for Windows is a Verizon exclusive, and therefore not compatible with European networks, so a GSM model could be revealed. AT&T has already said the phone will be coming to its airwaves in the near future, so we know it’ll happen at some point. Similarly, the Butterfly 2 could be adapted for use elsewhere in the world.
We’ll update you ahead of the event, and bring you all the official news on the day.
