HTC is likely to start selling the mid-range the HTC U12 Life phone in August, according to tech website Android Authority.

The report posted on the website earlier this week came after Darren Chen, head of HTC Taiwan, said last week that the company will continue to launch new models in the third quarter of this year to boost sales, despite the smartphone brand announcing on July 2 plans to cut about a quarter of its global workforce by the end of September.

"The HTC U11 Life launched last December with Android Oreo, but as we're seeing these promo materials now, it could mean that the U12 Life would be launched a little earlier, and potentially with the final version of Android P (which will probably arrive next month)," the website said.

Android Authority said the upcoming mid-range model will be powered by Qualcomm's octa core Snapdragon 636 processor and equipped with a six-inch full screen along with 4GB of RAM, and 64GB internal storage plus microSD support.

The new phone will also have a 13 megapixel front-facing camera with flash and beauty mode, Android authority added. The report said the new phone will have a dual rear camera setup with 16 megapixel and 5 megapixel sensors, and possibly an "Edge Sense" function that allows users to squeeze the phone to activate features such as the camera, Facebook, or other apps.

In addition, the U12 Life will adopt the "liquid surface" design of the smartphone vendor's flagship U series, which enables the model to reflect light differently.

The report said the U12 Life will also be powered by a 3,600 mAh battery, while the new model is expected to have a fingerprint scanner.

HTC launched its latest flagship model: the HTC U12+ in May but the company is still struggling with rising competition in the global smartphone market.

In June, HTC posted NT$2.23 billion in consolidated sales, down 67.64 percent from last year. The June figure was also down 8.97 percent from the previous month. It was the fifth consecutive month HTC has failed to generate monthly revenue of more than NT$3 billion.