HTC’s unexpected surprise is… a U Ultra version covered in sapphire

Speculation about today’s “unexpected surprise” from HTCturned out to be overly optimistic. After the teaser that HTCTaiwan put up last week, some were hoping to see the fabled – and so far, entirely unconfirmed – HTC11. The surprise is actually a premium version of the HTCU Ultra that is covered in sapphire. And this version isn’t even new, as HTCfirst teased it back in January.

From today through March 28, customers in Taiwan can preorder a special version of the HTCU Ultra featuring a protective sapphire glass cover. We assume this means the screen is covered in the tough, scratch-resistant mineral, but HTChasn’t really revealed any details. The special version is available in all four existing color versions (blue, black, white and pink) with 128GB of storage for NT$28,900 (around $945). That’s NT$5,000 ($160) more than the regular U Ultra 64GB, though early customers will also get a leather case worth $100.

Other than the sapphire cover and the extra storage, the device appears identical to the regular version. HTChasn’t made any official statements, but we assume the U Ultra Sapphire version will remain exclusive to Taiwan.

If you were hoping to see a brand new device – perhaps, the Snapdragon 835-powered flagship we were promised – it looks like you’ll have to wait a bit more.

To end the post, now is probably the right time to read this post from my colleague Kris Carlon: New colors and headphone ports: the new smartphone “features”