The HTC U11 has some fervent fans, but not everyone with their eye on the model has picked one up yet. If you're counted among those people, HTC has some good news: you'll be able to preorder the 128GB version of the U11 in the United States starting tomorrow. Not interested? The company is also hoping to bring in some new customers by dangling a few sweet summer deals.
![Remove HTC Keyboard ads: here’s how [UPDATE]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/htc-touchpal-ads.jpg)
Yes, you read that right. As if it weren't bad enough to be faced with ads no matter what corner of the Interwebs you go, HTC has decided that you should also see them in almost all screens of your smartphone. HTC has just pushed out an update to the Touchpal keyboard that it uses by default on some of its smartphones, like last year's HTC 10, that puts very visible and obnoxious ads at the very top of the keyboard, which means you get to see them all the time.
![Squeeze for Alexa, coming to the HTC U11 very soon [UPDATE: It’s out!]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1500251741852.jpg)
In the future, we might no longer need to even touch our phones to control them. We can just do it by voice. That is, if Samsung's vision for Bixby ever truly takes off. In the meantime, however, we'll have to content ourselves with less powerful but more useful personal assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa. And we'll still need to have a physical way to trigger those, like, say, squeezing your phone, which is exactly what HTC wants you to do with its U11 phone, possibly starting this week.
Today we're messing around with the colors that might be possible for the Google Pixel XL 2 2017. The images we're using here are modified from their original form, and are colored according to our own whim - not any sort of leak, tip, or rumor. The sources of the images of this Google Pixel XL 2 2017 are similar to what we reported yesterday. Now let's see that extra-special engraved edition in Tiffany Blue!
The next Google Pixel XL has been spotted in a leaked image which details the device in a big way. This is just one of two Google Pixel devices, the other being the standard 2017 Google Pixel - the new version of the device with the same name from the year 2016. This new pair of smartphones has been detailed in leaks in several articles in the recent past here on SlashGear - here we're rounding up the bunch with this rather sizable image leak.
If HTC’s “true” 2017 flagship felt raw, that’s probably because in some ways it is. Sure, Android 7.1 is definitely mature enough, but HTC’s own additions and modifications are fresh, untested, and still undergoing development. Fortunately, it might be rapid development, as there is now word on several features that could be landing on your U11 within a few weeks at the earliest, including some issues with the smartphone’s already excellent camera. At least by DxOMark standards.
The age of mini flagships is upon us again. Well, they never really left us but only took on different names and forms. In the midst of rumors of a "true" Galaxy S8 mini in the works comes word that HTC might have something similar in mind. According to LlabTooFer, a certain HTC "Ocean Life" coul be around the corner and will practically be a mid-range HTC U11.
Ten years after the first iPhone and it's time to take a head count - how does a 2007 phone compared to today's biggest and brightest. The actual anniversary is of the market release of the 1st-gen iPhone, which came to stores on June 29th, 2007. Back then, the mobile phone market was a very different place than it is today. So very many buttons! What did LG, Samsung, Motorola, and HTC have then - and what do they have now?
In pushing the virtual reality market forward, it really isn't enough just to have a VR headset or a set of demo apps and games. It isn't even enough just to have a platform to build upon. You also need the builders that will utilize that platform. Last year, HTC announced its Vive X accelerator program in a bid to grab that mindshare away from competing platforms like Facebook's Oculus. Now it is announcing the second batch of 33 startups that will get a chance to learn from HTC directly about creating virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experiences for fun and profit.
Although it is a highly capable smartphone in its own right, the HTC U11 would have probably been overshadowed by the likes of the Galaxy S8 or even the OnePlus 5 if not for two things. One is a camera highly praised by DxOMark. The other is its squeezable Edge Sense gestures. Not unlike Samsung's Bixby, the version of Edge Sense that new HTC U11 owners got was raw and underwhelming. Now the company is assuring customers that more are yet to come, starting with these actions.
The Steam Summer Sale is officially underway, but the deals don't apply to just Steam games. HTC announced today that it's discounting the VIVE for the duration of the sale as well, giving you the opportunity to save a bit of money on the admittedly expensive VR headset. HTC will also toss in a Steam gift card too, so you'll be able to take full advantage of the Summer Sale.
It's been an exciting couple of weeks for those in HTC's camp. The HTC U11 launched to solid reviews across the board, and though there was the slight misstep of its retail release being exclusive to Sprint, the phone is still available unlocked through HTC's website. If you were thinking of picking up one of those unlocked U11s, you may want to hold off for another day, because HTC is gearing up to launch a new red variant of the device.
