HTC Bolt specs, release date, rumors: Render images leaked; device ditched 3.5mm headphone jack?

Customers look at HTC smartphones in a mobile phone shop in Taipei July 30, 2013.Reuters/Pichi Chuang

The HTC Bolt has been elusive for the past few months. The company has managed to keep its upcoming device hidden to prying eyes. September came, and a rendered image was uploaded on the internet. Now, photos, rumored to be ones of the actual device, were leaked, and to the surprise of the community, it does not contain a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The actual leaked images came from the notable tipster Evan Blass (@evleaks) through his report at Venture Beat. One of the pictures showed the bottom portion of the device, and it contains a single bottom-firing speaker, the microphone hole, and a USB Type-C port that will handle the charging and the audio output.

The smartphone is said to run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box, and it is tipped to be sporting a large 5.5-inch display screen that will offer full HD resolution. It might also have 3 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage.

The image for the HTC Bolt also shows the optics, speculated to be an 18 MP main camera equipped with an f/2.0 aperture lens, and it is most probably capable of recording 4K videos. Its flash module is positioned above it, at the top most portion of the device. The front is said to carry an 8 MP camera.

The left side shows two trays for the SIM and the microSD card for the extended storage, while the other side has the volume controls and power button.

It cannot be denied that the HTC Bolt looks very much like the HTC 10 series. The bodywork is made out of aluminum, with chamfered edges. It is also speculated to carry a fingerprint scanner sensor, built right into its oval-shaped home button, between the backlit navigation keys.

If the rumors are true, then the HTC Bolt will be joining the ranks of other mobile phones that have already ditched the 3.5 mm headphone jack. These include the Moto Z, the Moto Z Force, the LeEco Le 2 series, and, of course, the Apple iPhone 7 series.

The release date and pricing remain unknown for now.