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HTC U11 finally gets Pie, only half a year later than the mid-range U11 Life (Update: Finally rolling out on Sprint)
A slice of pie
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Earlier this month, HTC tweeted that its U11, U11+, and U12+ phones would be getting updated to Android 9 Pie this spring, beginning with the U11 before the end of May. The manufacturer is making good on its word, as Pie has starting hitting U11 devices — months after it landed on the cheaper U11 Life.
As surprising as it sounds, there are still recent phones that haven't been updated to Pie, and the HTC U11, H11+, and U12+ are among these few. However, the Taiwanese manufacturer is finally getting ready to roll out the new Android version to these devices, right on time before Q becomes available.
As we truck along into 2019 with Android Q on the horizon, there are still some phones from the last couple of years that have yet to receive their Pie updates. While typical slow-pokes like Samsung, Huawei, and Asus have brought most of their flagship devices up to the latest version, HTC has lagged behind — excluding, of course, the U11 Life late last year. But the company's official Twitter account announced today that the U11, U11+, and U12+ will get Pie in Q2 2019.
Android 9.0 Pie is finally here, and now comes the fun part - waiting for OEMs to update their phones. Google and Essential have already started rolling out Pie to their devices, and now HTC has announced which of its phones will get Android 9.0.
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HTC U11 owners on Sprint have something to look forward to on Monday. According to Mo Versi, HTC's VP of Product Management, the Oreo update will start rolling out to users at the start of the work week, though it might take a few days to complete.
Some promos are better left unpublished and HTC should have gotten to this conclusion after seeing this video for the U11+. Even if they paid Danielle a lump of cash and got an entire team to work for weeks or months on setting this up, filming it, and editing it, with heart-fluttering music to go, this video should not have seen the light of day for one main reason: it fails at its purpose.
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Owners of the unlocked HTC U11 can expect a treat to help them get through their post-holiday weekend Monday blues. According to a tweet from Mo Versi, HTC's VP of Product Management for the Americas region, the unlocked version of the U11 will receive the Android 8.0 Oreo update tomorrow (Monday, November 27th). This comes about a week and a half after HTC began rolling out the Oreo update for U11 owners in Taiwan.
Oreo's era is in full swing and the next device to get the chocolate and cream treat is HTC's U11. Back in August, when Oreo officially launched, HTC said it would be bringing the new software version to the U11, U Ultra, and HTC 10, and the first one appears to have won the race.
Earlier this year, a device called 'Muskie' appeared in AOSP (alongside 'Walleye'), which was believed to be the larger 2017 Pixel device. Then the phone was seemingly cancelled, with the LG-made 'Taimen' taking its place. Taimen turned out to be the actual Pixel 2 XL, and Walleye became the HTC-made Pixel 2. Recently, more evidence was discovered that Muskie was being made by HTC, and it would have had a massive 3,830mAh battery.
Fresh off the acquisition of its Pixel team by Google, HTC has announced interest-free financing on purchases from HTC.com. That means you can grab HTC's latest devices and pay nothing up front. Instead, you pay a little bit every month until the device is zeroed out. There are a few caveats, but this'll make HTC's phones much easier to buy.
The HTC U11 was the company's second flagship of the year, and by most accounts, a pretty great phone. We've already heard rumors of an upcoming budget phone with Android One, the U11 Life, but now details about a U11 Plus have also leaked.
Every few weeks, HTC does a big sale on its devices and now's the time for another one. HTC is celebrating 10:08, the default time on its devices' press images by discounting some of its phones and giving away some free gear. The offers last until October 8, or 10/08.
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- HTC has officially announced the new features in a blog post. The company said that the Edge Sense beta, "is an opt-in program that will continue to grow as we look to perfect this experience." HTC also uploaded a video showing off the new features:
The U11, HTC's second flagship phone of 2017, stands out from the crowd with its squeezable frame. The phone's software can perform custom actions based on how intensely you squeeze the phone - something that this year's Pixels might get too. Now the company is testing a beta update for the Edge Sense app, allowing users to set their own custom actions.
Google has made Android 8.0 Oreo official, and some Pixel and Nexus phones have already gotten the OTA. So, the time has come for OEMs to make vague promises about updating their existing hardware to Android 8.0. First up is HTC, which has said on Twitter the Android 8.0 update is coming to the HTC U11, HTC U Ultra, and HTC 10.
The HTC U11 is a pretty good phone, and certainly an improvement over the earlier U Ultra. HTC previously announced that the phone would receive an update enabling 1080p 60FPS recording, and now the time has come.
HTC's latest flagship, the U11, isn't really a bad phone. It has some issues, notably light bleed on the display and no headphone jack, but it's a much better phone than the U Ultra. If you've been wanting to buy one, HTC is about to start selling a new 'Solar Red' color, plus the company is discounting several other phones and accessories.
The U11 is HTC's second flagship phone for 2017, with the standout feature being squeezable 'Edge Sense' sides. It just started shipping to customers in the United States and Canada, but new owners will likely find an update waiting for them out of the box.
It's always nice to see companies respect the GPL, which requires OEMs to release the kernel source code for phones they create. HTC is usually pretty good about releasing source code for new devices in a timely manner, and to that end, the company has uploaded the U11's kernel code to its website.
HTC and Android Police are teaming up to give you a chance to win the company's newest flagship, the U11. It's actually U11 launch day here in the US, so the timing couldn't get much better, right? We've got a single unlocked or Sprint (your choice) U11 to offer to our readers, and you can choose any one of the three launch colors here in the US, too (silver, blue, or black).