HTC has opened pre-orders for its only flagship phone release this year – the U12+ for $1,199. Pre-order buyers will receive a complimentary Harman Kardon wireless speaker (valued at $179), with shipping commencing end of July.

The Taiwanese company has not revealed which retailers will (or may) stock the device, instead directing pre-order consumers to its local website (here).

The new HTC U12+ claims to be the company’s “biggest, boldest flagship phone ever”, and follows the transfer of over half its R&D smartphone team to Google in a US$1.1 billion deal.

Aussies are set to receive the U12+ in the “hero” Translucent Blue colour, incorporating 128GB storage, 6GB RAM and dual SIM support.

HTC Australia claims the new U12+ is positioned to compete against the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S9/S9+ and Huawei’s P20 Pro.

The new HTC U12+ features Edge Sense 2, four cameras (dual front and rear), Qualcomm aptX HD audio, and it’s renowned ‘Liquid Surface’.

As previously reported, the U12+ runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with X20 LTE with further specification information here.