HTC’s long-rumored smartwatch has been snapped again

There’s been talk of an HTC smartwatch since way back in 2013, but while there’s still no sign of a release date, the watch, believed to be codenamed HTC Halfbeak, has just been leaked in an assortment of photos.

These images, shared on Weibo, match earlier leaked shots and don’t really show us anything new, with the same round display (believed to have a resolution of 360 x 360), the same plastic strap and the same heart rate sensor on the bottom.

The watch also has Under Armour branding alongside HTC’s, which again is something we’ve seen before.

But while there’s no new information here the existence of new images does suggest the HTC Halfbeak might still be in the works – though it appears to be running Android Wear 1.0, which could mean the photos actually aren’t recent, since Android Wear 2.0 is launching imminently and any new Android smartwatch is likely to use that from day one.

It could be coming soon

But that’s also cause for hope, as with Android Wear 2.0 landing in early February we’re expecting a number of new smartwatches to arrive soon after, so the HTC Halfbeak could well be among them.

If so, MWC 2017 at the end of February is likely when we’ll see it. But with LG reportedly launching two new smartwatches on February 9 the HTC Halfbeak could have some stiff competition.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.