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HTC is working on four Wildfire-branded phones, leaked images reveal

By Joshua Swingle

Published: Jul 16, 2019, 11:42 AM

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HTC Android

The HTC 10

HTC’s smartphone business has dramatically cut its output over the past few years but now it seems to be preparing for a resurgence. Just one month after the company introduced two new devices, leaked press images have now revealed that a further four smartphones are on the way.

The HTC Wildfire E

HTC is working on four Wildfire-branded phones, leaked images reveal

The first model of the bunch also looks set to be the most basic offering. As revealed yesterday, the HTC Wildfire E will feature a small 18:9, 5.45-inch display that boasts an HD+ (1440 x 720p) resolution. Paired with this should be a plastic rear panel that houses a large HTC logo, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a horizontal camera module in the top-left corner. Speaking of which, leaked information suggests there will be a main 13-megapixel snapper on the rear which will be accompanied by a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 5-megapixel selfie camera.

Overall, the HTC Wildfire E looks a lot like a cheaper, more compact version of last year’s HTC Desire 12+. This assumption is further solidified by the processor – HTC has replaced the Snapdragon 450 with a low-end octa-core chip by UniSoC – and the RAM count which now sits at just 2GB. Nevertheless, the 32GB of internal storage used last year has apparently been retained.

As you’d expect from a 2019 smartphone, the Wildfire E will ship with Android 9 Pie pre-installed alongside HTC’s custom interface. Other features include a 3,000mAh battery, 4G LTE support, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The HTC Wildfire E+

Joining the standard Wildfire E will be a model that seemingly ditches the compact size and settles for just being a cheaper version of the Desire 12+. As part of this strategy, the Wildfire E+ replaces the 5.45-inch panel found on its sibling with a 6-inch display that offers the same HD+ (1440 x 720p) resolution.

To further entice consumers and presumably justify a slightly higher price tag, the Wildfire E+ ditches the standard model’s processor in favor of a better-known quad-core MediaTek Helio A22. The latter is an entry-level chip that’s comparable to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 was used inside last year’s sub-$100 Xiaomi Redmi 6A.

The HTC Wildfire E1

HTC’s Wildfire E1 looks completely different from any budget smartphone produced by the brand in the past. Rather than utilizing a more traditional 16:9 or 18:9 display, this particular model adopts a large 6-inch 19.5:9 panel that’s paired with a large chin and features a small notch towards the top in addition to an HD+ (1560 x 720p) resolution.

Like the Wildfire E+, the Wildfire E1 is powered by MediaTek’s Helio A22. This time around, though, HTC looks set to include a slightly more respectable 3GB of RAM paired with the same 32GB of storage. Other upgrades should include an 8-megapixel selfie snapper and a 16-megapixel rear shooter.

The Wildfire E1 will probably ship with Android 9 Pie straight out of the box and support 4G LTE networks as standard. Leaked information points towards a 3,000mAh battery inside the device but, considering its size, that’s most likely wrong with the actual capacity presumed to be larger.

The HTC Wildfire

Completing HTC’s new lineup of smartphones will apparently be a fourth model that’ll sit above all others. The device is referred to simply as the ‘HTC Wildfire’ but separate sources suggest it may actually be marketed as the Wildfire E2 or E3.

Following in the footsteps of the Wildfire E1, this model features a notched, HD+ display. However, to better differentiate the models, the diagonal has been increased to 6.2-inches and the waterdrop notch has been replaced with a V-shaped alternative. Inside, the speedier MediaTek Helio P23 which can be compared to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 450 can be found. Accompanying this will reportedly be 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage once again. Also, a 3,500mAh battery is listed among the specs.

Completing the smartphone’s setup should be a 16-megapixel front-facing camera and a dual-sensor setup on the rear which consists of a primary 16-megapixel camera and a separate 5-megapixel alternative.

As you may have noticed, the press renders of the HTC Wildfire or Wildfire E2/E3 lack the brand’s logo on the rear. That’s because the device is actually being developed by a separate company on behalf of HTC and the design pictured is likely a preliminary one.