Update (Feb 20): It seems the Desire 12 launch may not be very far. An alleged retail box of the smartphone has appeared online, which suggests an impending arrival of the phone. Shared by Android Authority, this box has confirmed many of the previously leaked specifications as well as revealed a new storage variant of the phone.

So, here is what we know so far about the HTC Desire 12

• 5.5-inch 18:9 1440x720p screen
• MediaTek quad-core SoC, 64-bit
• 2/ 3GB of RAM, 16/ 32GB of internal storage, microSD card slot
• Dual-SIM support, 4G LTE, Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
• 2730 mAh battery
• 12MP rear camera with PDAF, 5MP selfie camera
• Android (Oreo likely)

There is still no word on the pricing.

Update (Feb 14): According to @evleaks, HTC Breeze (codename) will be launched as HTC Desire 12.

Earlier (Feb 5): Taiwanese manufacturer HTC is reportedly working on a new budget Android smartphone, which will feature a 5.5-inch screen with 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone carries the codename HTC Breeze.

Although HTC has included 18:9 screen in a couple of its smartphones like HTC U11 EYEs and U11+, the Breeze will be the first entry-level device from the company to go for this aspect ratio. The 18:9 display have become quite common over the last 12 months with the Chinese smartphone makers using them in pretty much all of their phones. The likes of Honor are allegedly going to use only 18:9 screens in all its future launches.

HTC Breeze rumoured specifications

Coming back to HTC Breeze, the phone will use a SoC from MediaTek, but exactly which is unclear at this point. Additionally, the phone will include 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot.

Among other specifications, the HTC Breeze will come with 13-megapixel (Update)12-megapixel primary camera on the back and a 5-megapixel selfie shooter. There will be a 2730 mAh battery on-board as well. There is no word on the operating system, but the presence of Oreo seems like a good bet.

The availability and pricing remain a mystery at this point. It is very important that HTC prices this phone aggressively, given the intense competition from the Chinese smartphone makers in the budget segment. The usual HTC pricing will make this phone dead-on-arrival.

In related news, HTC recently completed its deal with Google, as a part of the company has lost a significant part of its engineering and design team and it will be interesting to see what kind of smartphones it brings in the coming months with a comparably smaller team at works.