Could HTC’s 5G phone be a 2020 top flagship contender?

I used to be the resident HTC fanboy at MobileSyrup, so it’s not surprising that I was elated when the company announced that it plans to launch a 5G phone in 2020. 

With this in mind, I’m still quite a pessimistic and I don’t have high hopes for the handset. However, there’s always still a possibility that it could be great.

There’s a chance that this phone might be an Exodus phone. The Taiwanese company’s blockchain phone lineup first launched in 2018. It was a remodelled version of the HTC U12+ that supported cryptocurrency.

To be clear, I don’t want another Exodus phone.

Instead, I’m hoping this mystery HTC device is another U-series smartphone. In 2017, HTC launched the U11, which was the first flagship handset that I’ve ever reviewed. I loved this smartphone and gave it an 8.5/10. I also reviewed the HTC U12+, which I gave an 8/10.

Neither of these phones were spectacular, but there were still a lot of things I liked about them, including ‘Edge Sense,’ the ability to snap crisp, sharp photos, great performance and more.

This year we’ve already seen flip and foldable phones and even a smartphone with 100x digital zoom, but I’ll be happy as long as we get another premium smartphone from HTC.

While the last U-series flagship featured pretty big bezels, HTC has worked on other handsets since the U12+. Some of these phones sport U snd V-shaped notches in order to get rid of the huge top bezel. And while the bottom bezels haven’t decreased in size that much, I’m sure it’s possible for the company to accomplish this.

Either way, if HTC releases a U-shaped flagship this year, it’s possible that we’ll see another top-level flagship. In my books, so far the smartphone to beat this year is the Galaxy S20+. But, this upcoming 5G HTC smartphone might be the handset to do it.

While the company is expected to work closely with Qualcomm, we don’t know anything about the phone yet beyond that it supports 5G, which right now, doesn’t mean much in Canada. Based on that, it’ll likely use the Snapdragon X55 modem from Qualcomm, which could mean high-end specs like a Snapdragon 865 processor, at least 8GB of RAM, and a 4,000mAh battery. However, it could also go with a lower-end Snapdragon 765 if HTC chooses to go after the mid-range, or even use a budget MediaTek 5G chipset.

But what do you guys think? Will HTC’s 2020 5G smartphone be a top contender or will it flop like the once-great Android manufacturer’s last few devices? Let us know in the comments below.