HTC unveils Butterfly 2 with 13MP Duo Camera and IP57 rating
HTC unveils Butterfly 2 with 13MP Duo Camera and IP57 rating
HTC today unveiled the Butterfly 2, its third generation of smartphone under the Butterfly branding at a launch event in Tokyo, Japan.
The Butterfly 2 is actually the global variant of the new J Butterfly HTL23 which was prematurely announced by Japanese telco KDDI on July 31st. The key differences between the two models are the weight and internal storage capacity.
The J Butterfly HTL23 is heavier at 154g while the Butterfly 2 tips the scale at 151g. The Butterfly 2 also comes with 16GB internal storage while its Japanese counterpart has double the internal storage at 32GB. Both phones sport microSD memory card slots that support memory cards up to 128GB in capacity.
With the new Butterfly models, HTC finally jumped onto the water and dust resistance bandwagon alongside Samsung and Sony. The phone comes with IP57 rating, which means that it can stay underwater at a maximum depth of one meter for 30 minutes. It should be noted that this is a step up from the first generation Butterfly model, which has an IPX-5 waterproof standard (protection against low pressure water stream from any angle) and no protection against dust.
It still sports the distinct curve on its back, which makes it fit naturally in your hand. The new Butterfly comes in three colors: red, blue and white. Only the white model has a matte texture on its rear while the other two colors come with glossy surfaces.
In line with the recent One (E8), HTC substituted its signature 4-megapixel UltraPixel sensor on the high-end One (M8) with a 13-megapixel camera module on the new Butterfly models. When queried on its decision to use a 13-megapixel camera sensor, Darren Sng, Head of Product Marketing said that it was based on market demand. Darren went on to proclaim that he sees both camera modules to be equally powerful and that HTC remains committed to the UltraPixel imaging technology.
Like the company's leading One (M8), the new Butterfly models come equipped with a secondary camera for capturing depth information. This allows to feature the same suite of Duo camera effects including UFocus, Seasons and Copy & Paste. It also has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for taking selfies. Other specs of the Butterfly 2 include:
- 5-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core 2.5GHz processor
- 2GB RAM
- Android 4.4.2 KitKat with HTC Sense 6 (Motion Launch Gestures, BlinkFeed, Extreme Power Saving mode)
- HTC BoomSound front-facing speakers
- 4G LTE support
- Uses nano-SIM
- 145.4 x 70.2 x 9.99mm
- 151g
The Butterfly 2 will be available in Taiwan from September 2, and it will be sold through telcos and retailers in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand at a later date.
While we await more details of local price and availability, check out our hands-on article of the Butterfly 2.