HTC U23 Pro press renders leak

As you might know by now, this coming Thursday we will see HTC introduce its first "U" series phone since 2020's HTC U20 5G. Leaked pictures of the HTC U23 Pro revealed that the phone will be equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset which would make the device more of a mid-range than a flagship phone. Other specs seen in these pictures show that the U23 Pro will have at least 8GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage. A 4600mAh battery will keep the lights on and Android 13 is pre-installed.

One interesting rumor calls for the HTC U23 Pro to sport a 108MP primary camera on the rear. Three model numbers (2QC9100, 2QC9200, and 2QCB100) have surfaced.

This morning, we have some press renders of the device courtesy of Evan Blass (@evleaks) who has come full circle. In his tweet that included the renders, Blass points out that his very first leak involved an HTC handset. The renders show the HTC U23 Pro in two colors, light brown and white. Another version of the phone in gray was seen in a previous leak. The press renders also confirm the HTC U23 Pro moniker of the handset.

At one time HTC was considered among the top smartphone manufacturers in the world and was behind a number of iconic phones including the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, the T-Mobile G1 (the first Android phone in the U.S.), the Nexus One, the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, and the fabulous HTC One (M7) and HTC One (M8). But the latter device represented the peak for HTC and the company soon lost its way as its later handsets failed to match up with other Android rivals, especially Samsung and even LG.

More recently HTC released the Wildfire E2 Play, a low-priced phone powered by a Spreadtrum T606 processor. The phone features a 6.82-inch LCD display and comes with 8GB  of RAM and 128GB of storage. The HTC U23 Pro is a huge step above the Wildfire E2 Play but is a mid-range phone at best. And that begs the question, will HTC return to the flagship smartphone market?