HTC 10 makes Malaysia debut plus HTC announces arrival of Vive and Healthbox

While it has been seen on the local grey market in one fashion or another, the HTC 10 is finally officially launched in Malaysia. It’s a bit late to the party but HTC’s flagship blower is still a strong contender on several  fronts.

HTC representatives showcasing the new HTC 10 at a recent media launch in Kuala Lumpur

The chassis is a delicately chamfered unibody aluminium job though one that’s distinctly different from the earlier M9 that comes in two different colours – gold and a shade of dark grey. Holding it and hefting it is a novel experience akin to handling a bespoke timepiece with the HTC 10’s knurled metal buttonry, lustrously smooth finish and chamfering around the machined diamond-cut edges making it quite a delight to hold.

The hardware is equally fetching with a 5.2-inch Quad HD display with Gorilla Glass, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor clocking in at 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 32GB of expandable storage and a rear 12-MP camera with an F/1.8 aperture along with their UltraPixel tech that can take 4K video too. The front 5-MP selfie snapper on the HTC 10 also has an F/1.8 aperture with the ability to take 1080P video but what makes special is that it also has OIS too, making it so far the only phone on the planet that has an OIS-equipped selfie camera.

The key ace in the HTC 10’s bid for flagship supremacy is that it’s the most ably equipped out of the contenders in the field on the aural front. The HTC 10 is rated for stereo 24-bit Hi-Res audio recording which it is also capable of rendering alongside luscious 4K video from the rear camera. The phone is also Hi-res audio certified and a built-in headphone amp juiced up by their BoomSound as well as Dolby audio tech delivers sweet, rich music to your ears. The icing on the cake is that the phone also ships with a Hi-Res audio certified pair of headphones too. Fast charging comes as a matter of course and it also has the corresponding fast charger plug bundled with the box too. In Malaysia, it costs RM2,799 at all retailers as well as on 11Street online.

At the press conference announcing the launch of the HTC 10 , HTC also announced the upcoming availability of the HTC X9 phablet which was also seen at MWC earlier this year but which is slated to arrive sometime in August or so.

The phone weighs 170g and has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, runs Android Marshmallow on a MediaTek Helio X10 octacore processor, has 3GB RAM, 32GB of onboard storage, has a rear offset mounted 13-MP camera with OIS and 4K video recording capability, a front-facing 5-MP camera and a 3000mAh battery. Frequent SIM and SD card switchers will be chuffed to note that the X9 has ports that you can open with just your nails rather than the usual ones that need a paper clip to open.
The HTC X9 is priced at RM1,499 and will come in either gold or gray this coming August.

The HTC X9 is quite a bit larger than the HTC 10

The most interesting takeaway news that HTC announced though is that their UA Healthbox, their fitness solution in a box that consists of a digital weighing scale, heart rate monitor and smartwatch made in cooperation with sports garment brand Under Armour will be making its way to Malaysia.

Source: Under Armour

No prices have been announced but it’s around US299 (RM1175) and will be available at Under Armour retail stores in Malaysia. Saving the best for last, HTC also announced that their legendary Vive VR suite will also be arriving in Malaysia. It costs US$799 which works out to RM3150 though the price for the Vive and Healthbox are not set in stone and have not been finalised yet in any official fashion. Both the UA Healthbox and the Vive have been slated to arrive sometime in Q4 of 2016 so it can be anywhere from October onwards till December. We’ll keep you posted on any updates.

The HTC Vive is one of the most eagerly anticipated and sought after VR suites yet made.