HTC at one stage looked like they were down for the count, but if reports are to be believed this year’s squeezable U11 was an extremely solid device, unfortunately not seen locally here in South Africa. A follow-up is now seeing the light of day, with HTC revealing the U11+. Its 6” screen (1440 x 2880, Super LCD6) is .5” larger than its older brother, but boasts the same Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 chipset.

Here’s the interesting thing. According to The Verge, the U11+ was originally destined to become the Google Pixel 2 XL. The main engineering inside would have formed the basis for the 2 XL, although the final form would have differed. Unfortunately, Google rejected “muskie” as it was codenamed then. With the LG manufactured 2 XL, currently running into screen-burn issues, one wonders if Google perhaps does not regret the decision to move from HTC.

Delving into some more specs on the U11+, the one that’s got us interested is the 3930 mAh battery, which HTC claims provides 30% increase in stamina compared to the U11. It also includes the Edge Launcher on the sides to launch apps and settings,

HTC is ducking the dual-lens trend and is providing only one 12 MP UltraPixel 3 camera with phase detection autofocus at the back, with an 8 MP camera upfront. The U11+ comes in two versions. One offers 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM. If you don’t want to worry about storage, opt for the 128 GB version with 6 GB of RAM. Both include a slot for a MicroSD card (up to 2 TB).

It is IP68 rated water and dust resistant, comes with Android 8.0 straight out the box and HTC Sense UI loaded on top. Will this HTC U11+ make it to South Africa? Well, much like the Google Pixel 2 XL, chances are you would have to resort to importing it to get your hands on one.

Check the video below for more info.