HTC U (Ocean) launch date confirmed by the company

HTC is all set to launch its flagship smartphone for 2017, likely to be called HTC U. After months of rumors and leaks, the smartphone finally has a concrete launch date. As announced by the Taiwanese tech company on social media websites, HTC U will be launched on May 16.
HTC will be holding three simultaneous launch events in Taipei, New York and London. The official HTC U website is live with a timer, counting to the launch date. It also has the text, ‘Squeeze for the brilliant U’.
On Twitter, HTC’s official handle has also shared a teaser video with the same text. The 5-second teaser video shows a hand squeezing the side bezels of the device to trigger different actions.
HTC U’s highlight is said to be a touch-sensitive frame. Previous rumours have stated that the smartphone will have sensors under its metallic frame, allowing users to launch apps and perform other options by squeezing, tapping or swiping on the metal edges.
Recently, noted smartphone tipster Evan Blass (@evleaks) tweeted an alleged image of the HTC U, which shows both the front and rear of the smartphone.
The overall look and design of the HTC U appears to be similar to that of the U Ultra. The rear panel is made from a glassy ‘Liquid’ surface and has rounded corners. At the centre, the main camera with LED flash is visible. On the front, there is a selfie camera at the top right corner and a Home button (possibly with an embedded fingerprint sensor) below the display. The rumoured secondary ticker display is not visible in the live image.
The device is expected to have a 5.5-inch QuadHD IPS display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB/6GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, 12MP rear Ultrapixel camera and a 3,000mAh battery (with Quick Charge 3.0 support).