This could be our first look at a real HTC U12 (aka Imagine)

HTC may not be planning to unveil a new flagship phone at MWC 2018, but the company is certainly working on at least one new high-end handset. We know this because, last week, HTC showcased an unannounced smartphone in Taiwan, its home country, during a 5G event held by a local carrier.   

Unfortunately, HTC covered the top and bottom edges of its unannounced phone, as well as its rear, so we can't take a proper look at its design. Anyway, according to ever-reliable Evan Blass (aka @evleaks), this is, apparently, the HTC U12, codenamed HTC Imagine. Needless to say, this should be the successor to last year's HTC U11 flagship.

From what we can see, the alleged HTC U12 / Imagine has a near bezel-less screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio, possibly measuring 6-inch inches (similar to the already available HTC U11+). The handset was showcased as being capable of delivering download speeds of 809.58 Mbps - that's almost 1 Gbps (1 Gb per second). Most probably, this is thanks to the fact that the U12 is powered by a Qualcomm's brand new Snapdragon 845 processor, which includes a Qualcomm X20 LTE modem that supports download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps.

According to Taiwanese publication Sogi, HTC said that its new smartphone would be announced sometime this year. Reportedly, the company declined to reveal the handset's name, so it's not clear if it will be launched as the HTC U12. Nevertheless, we're looking forward to seeing what HTC has in store for us.

sources: Sogi (translated), Evan Blass (Twitter)