HTC might have just hinted that it’s rebooting a classic phone, but which one?

From the iPhone-rivaling HTC Desire to the beautiful HTC One (M7), HTC has created some brilliant phones over the years, which makes it all the more disappointing that the company is now a barely-there presence in the smartphone space. But it could be planning a big return.

Drew Bamford, the head of HTC Creative Labs, tweeted a simple question: “Which classic @htc phone would you like to see us bring back with today's technology?”

It’s a question that could hint that HTC is indeed planning to bring back a classic, perhaps in a similar way to how Motorola recently resurrected the Razr range with the foldable Motorola Razr 2019.

This could just as easily be a bit of fun, and there's no certainty the company has plans to look to its past for inspiration, so don’t get too excited. That said, TechRadar’s own Gareth Beavis had some ideas of what he’d like to see if a rebooted HTC phone ever does arrive.

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What TechRadar would love to see

Beavis' suggestions included using micro oxidized aluminum from the HTC One S for the construction of the phone, which would be a nice change from the glass backs found on most current handsets.

That could then be paired with top tier power, like the HTC Hero offered at the time, plus software that’s open and accessible enough for the hacker community to use, so the handset can hopefully have the cult appeal of something like the HTC HD2. And how about some of the improved battery life we started to see from more recent HTC handsets?

He argued that it should also have some of HTC’s iconic features, such as the company’s UltraPixel camera technology, and BoomSound speakers (but perhaps with a Sonos partnership for a richer ecosystem). Plus a rebooted version of HTC Sense, which was once one of the best Android overlays.

Were HTC to use all these ideas it wouldn’t so much have a new version of a single handset on its hands, rather it would have a greatest hits device, taking elements from many phones of its past.

And were HTC to look backwards that would perhaps be the best approach, since the smartphone world has moved on, so rehashing a single phone, even with modern specs, may not be enough.

But if HTC could capture the essence of all its past innovations and successes in a smartphone built for 2020. Well, then we might have an HTC phone we could get excited about again.

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