Not content to just sit while its competitors are releasing their own wearable devices, HTC is also planning to launch its own offering in two months time. As reported by Bloomberg, the Taiwanese tech company is set to introduce its first smartwatch in March of this year.
Several times in the past few years, HTC has been rumored to be developing its own line of wearable devices. When Google announced Android Wear, HTC was even mentioned by name as one of its tech partners. But it appears HTC never really got a product released in the market.
Until now, that is. According to Bloomberg's report, the upcoming HTC smartwatch will be linking with Under Armour's fitness service. This should be pretty consistent with the news earlier this month that the Taiwanese phone maker and Under Armour are forging a partnership.
HTC is expected to unveil its new smartwatch at the upcoming Mobile World Congress to be held in Barcelona, Spain in March this year. In this event, some of the world's biggest tech giants like Samsung and Huawei will be introducing their newest mobile products as well as teasers of their upcoming releases.
As for HTC, launching a wearable device will be a considered a first for the phone maker. Additionally, it will be another solid indication that the company is indeed making an effort in diversify its line of mobile products. Last year, HTC had introduced its Re action camera. This year, with its upcoming smartwatch, the company makes a bold step venturing into wearable device territory.
It is not like HTC wasn't trying before. Last year, the company previewed a number of wearable devices, including a certain model based on Qualcomm's Toq reference design, plus a smartwatch that uses Google Now that appears to be cut in the same vein as Android Wear. But the fact that HTC has been named by Google as one of its first five hardware partners for Android Wear highly suggests that whatever wearable device HTC is developing is most likely running on Google's smartwatch software system.
Apart from the smartwatch, the Bloomberg report also mentioned that HTC will also be introducing a new smartphone codenamed One M9. The device will reportedly feature a 20-megapixel camera on its rear as well as an HTC UltraPixel camera on its front. HTC purposely developed the UltraPixel sensor to capture clearer photos even in low-light conditions.
It appears that the One M9 is meant to be an improvement on the One M8, in terms of design and features. It is rumored that the One M9 device will be powered by Qualcomm's eight-core Snapdragon 810 chip set, which can support advanced video capabilities.
