This morning HTC has announced its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC U11. HTC's latest and greatest boasts a level of modern tech spec you would expect in this class of device but raw specs aren't what make flagship devices a hit, or a miss. Thus HTC has worked hard on aspects of this smartphone which could differentiate it from Droids from other brands.
As with any such launch we heard big claims. However HTC has definitely equipped one of the best cameras available in a smartphone today: DxOMark has confirmed it is now the highest scoring device tested with its imaging benchmarks. While we are on the topic of the camera I might as well say that HTC uses a 12MP (HTC UltraPixel 3 with 1.4μm pixel) main camera with UltraSpeed Autofocus, a BSI sensor, OIS, and an ƒ/1.7 aperture. Its dual-LED flash helps with natural skin tones. Meanwhile its 16MP BSI sensor equipped f/2.0 selfie camera has various modes you will enjoy fiddling with such as 'live make-up'.
In a pre-release tease for the new smartphone HTC first signalled its intention to implement a 'squeeze UI'. The bumper of the phone is pressure sensitive and this is referred to in the launch today as 'Edge Sense'. By pressing and stroking the phone bumper you can take photos, scroll, launch your favourite apps and more, it's configurable. "Before, it was a hassle to reach these features, but we simplified it into a single motion," claims HTC.
Another differentiating feature with the HTC U11 is the device's look and feel. The 5.5-inch Quad HD 3D glass fronted device looks very smoothly designed and this is in part due to the liquid glass surface crafted using Optical Spectrum Hybrid Deposition around its back. HTC says that many layers of highly-refractive precious minerals have been deposited over the phone back cover for deep vivid colours that vary considerably with lighting and movement.
I've mentioned the camera specs above, but for convenience the full tech specs are tabulated below. This sleek new smartphone will be available shortly in 4GB RAM / 64GB storage configurations for £649 / $649. Blue, white, silver, red and black finishes will be available (depending upon region / carrier).
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
- RAM: 4 or 6GB
- Storage: 64 / 128GB UFS + microSD
- Network: 4G LTE Cat. 16
- Nano SIM, Dual SIM: Some regions. Hybrid SIM2/SD slot
- Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD SuperLCD 5
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Back Panel: Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Main Camera: 12MP, 1.4μm pixels, f/1.7 lens, OIS, EIS, UltraPixel 3, UltraSpeed AF, HDR Boost
- Front Camera : 16MP, f/2.0 with UltraPixel mode
- Capacitive keys
- Water/Dust Resistance: IP67
- Battery: 3,000mAh, Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0
- Audio: HTC BoomSound Hi-Fi, HTC USonic, USB-C + noise cancelling headphones
- Operating System: Android 7.1.1, HTC Sense, Google Assistant + Amazon Alexa
- Physical: 153.9 x 75.9 x 7.9mm, 169g
