HTC U11 Bluetooth 5.0, 1080p60 Update Starts Rolling Out

When HTC launched the U11, it said that the U Ultra that preceded it wasn't exactly the complete story it wanted to tell the world this 2017. It turns out, the U11 might not exactly be complete either. No, there isn't a new HTC smartphone coming, at least none that we have heard of. Instead, the HTC U11 story itself is far from over and HTC is promising updates that, more than just fix issues, actually add completely new functionality, including this new firmware update in Taiwan that adds the promised Bluetooth 5.0 support.

Most manufacturers launch smartphones that are, more or less, feature complete. Of course, there are exceptions, like Samsung's Bixby on the Galaxy S8, but the norm is to prevent making the phone feel incomplete and unfinished.

The HTC U11 is mostly feature complete as well. Instead, it is actually adding more features on top of what's already there. Some of them, like Bluetooth 5.0 compatibility, would normally require new hardware. And yet HTC managed to pull it off with a simple software update, implying that the Bluetooth hardware in the U11 has always been Bluetooth 5.0 ready.

Another feature HTC is adding that doesn't require hardware changes is recording video in 1080p resolution and 60 fps framerates. While the camera sensor is capable of 4K video, it can't really do 60 fps at that resolution. 1080p 60 fps, however, is more or less a standard feature by now, so graduating to that is always a good thing.

What the update lacks, which is a purely software addition, is more Squeeze Gestures. HTC has promised it will be enabling and adding more actions in future updates but sadly it doesn't seem to be the case just yet. The HTC U11 firmware update is now rolling out in Taiwan and an international rollout hopefully won't be too far away.

SOURCE: HTC Taiwan