HTC Bolt release date, specs news: New Sprint smartphone offers high-end features with IP57 water resistance

A phone as fast and efficient as the world's fastest man has a lot of expectations to fulfill. And being the first ever smartphone on Sprint's lineup to feature a 3X20 MHz Carrier Aggregation on top of Qualcomm's X10 LTE modem, the HTC Bolt promises to be as fast and efficient as its endorser, Usain Bolt himself.

The newest smartphone to hit the market sports an 8.09-millimeter thick aluminum unibody design that's reminiscent of the HTC 10. But unlike the older model, the HTC Bolt is equipped with IP57 level water resistance that puts it on par with its high-end competitors.

The screen is a 5.5-inch QHD, with Super LCD 3 and 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5. This complements the 16-MP rear camera with 4K video recording capabilities. The camera also boasts 29.3 mm wide angle f/2.0 aperture, dual LED flash, hi-resolution audio recording and RAW support. Even though it lacks the laser autofocus that the HTC 10 has, it is equipped with face detection AF that does the job of refocusing the subject quite well.

The selfie camera is at 8 MP and is capable of capturing 1080p videos. RAM memory is at 3 GB, while internal storage is at 32 GB. HTC Bolt offers an option to expand its memory with a microSD card tray, which can be found on the left edge of the phone along with a nanoSIM card tray.

The bottom part of the phone houses the speaker grille along with an in-call microphone. The 3.5-mm headphone jack has been removed from the phone's overall design.

The smartphone runs on Android Nougat 7.0 with HTC Sense and has a 3,200 mAh battery with Quick Charge features. The front fingerprint scanner adds a level of security and unlocks in a breeze at 0.2 seconds. Connectivity features include Cat 9 LTE with LTE band 41, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, and USB-C.

The phone sells at $599 and is available exclusively via Sprint.