HTC has announced a new phone and rather than making you wait until Chinese New Year or Valentine's Day, it's launching its red phone right away.

Following on from the amazing Solar Red U11 - by far the most interesting colour of 2017 - there's a Flame Red version of the new HTC U12+.

• HTC U12+ specs, price and release date: Everything you need to know 

HTC has been using its "Liquid Surface" finish for the last few generations of phones, producing these amazing shimmering colours in glass. It all comes down to the manufacturing, using layers of glass and various methods to bring out the awesome colours.

Flame Red fits its name: from some angles its red, from others its gold, from no angles does it look boring. The colour ripples and shimmers as you move the phone in your hand. Sure, you will have to wipe fingerprints off the glass surface, but when most people have a black or silver phone, it really stands out.

It's a hard phone to photograph given the reflections off the surface and the depth of the colours, it really is something you should see for yourself in the flesh.

We've given the HTC U12+ a more detailed examination - including the translucent model - so be sure to read up on all the details. Or you can read up on how it compares to the U11+ or the equally attractive Huawei P20 Pro.