This is HTC’s newest smartphone it’s called the HTC U11.
Looking at the U11 from the front it really doesn’t stand out from the crowd theres zero excitement, it’s only when you turn over to the back is where you will see the difference with the U11’s liquid glass surface on the rear panel. It’s very unique and eye catching , the colors will shift and change depending on the angle and how the light hits it which will definitely get a kool effect.
At the front you have the typical array of keys and home button that’s also a fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint sensor works really well at unlocking the phone with speed, reliability and accuracy.
Alongside your SIM slot, there’s room for up to 2TB of expandable storage via microSD.
The Display
The display has stuck to the more traditional route and left the tall and narrow screen with super thin bezels to LG and Samsung. It’s a 5.5inch Quad HD display with 16×9 Aspect Ratio with thick bezels, it’s not going draw too much attention like the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8, but the quality of the screen is excellent it’s very sharp and crisp with great viewing angles, contrast and vibrant colors which is just as good as the S8. Outdoor visibility is very good with a very bright display.
Its running Android 7.1.1 with HTC’s Sense on board. With HTC Sense you get features like Blinkfeed, the Vertical Scroll app drawer and HTC Custom Themes. This is certainly one of the cleanest forms of Android.
KEY SPECS
OS— Android 7.1.1
RAM— 4GB, 6GB
Storage— 64GB, 128GB + MicroSD
Display— 5.5-inch; 2,560×1,440 pixels
Camera— 16MP (front) 12MP (back)
SOC— Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (2.4GHz+1.9GHz)
Battery— 3,000mAh
Audio Experience
The U11 Features a much more improved woofer and tweeter combo from the previous HTC 10. It’s much louder with better clarity and you can feel the audio literally resonate throughout the entire phone when holding it in your hand. When it comes to internal audio the U11 doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack so you will have to use the included 3.5mm to USB Type-C adapter, also included is a pair of U-Sonic earphones that are some of the best sounding pair of earbuds you’ll ever get with a smartphone. These earphones are able to analyze and tune audio specifically for your ear structure and also features active noise canceling that works really well to block out outside interference.
Waterproofing
The biggest improvement on the HTC U11 is the ip rating. The U11 is now ip67 this means it’s completely dust proof and can be completely submerged under water.
Squeeze It!!
The stand out feature is undoubtedly the new Edge Sense Technology which is HTC’s shortcut for accessing different functions or apps on your phone by just squeezing both sides of the phone. Yes! The HTC U11 is a squeezable phone and it works really well, it’s extremely intuitive, one the most intuitive gestures on a smartphone.
Along with Google Assistant you also get HTC’s Sense companion which will give you suggestions based on your location or time of day and also learns your user habits over time so it can provide you with the information that it thinks you will want to know like weather updates, provide restaurant recommendations when it’s time for dinner, remind you to charge your phone or give you traffic updates based on your route.
Battery life is very good the 3000mAh battery may sound average to today’s standard but it won’t struggle to get you through a full day without charge under heavy use. It has quick charge 3.0 to make charging quick and easy.
The Camera
The rear camera is a new 12 megapixel sensor HTC calls the Ultrapixel 3 with optical stabilization and a bright F1.7 aperture. It also has a new feature called HDR Boost which auto processes all your photos to HDR to give you the clearest and well balanced photos as possible. The front facing camera camera has no optical stabilization but it’s a 16 megapixel camera that captures sharper and better looking selfies, you can also take photos using the HDR Boost. The rear camera takes very impressive photos with great detail and natural colors, it’s not overly vibrant like the Galaxy S8. Night photos are very sharp and detailed with low noise levels.
When you shoot videos you don’t only have great audio recording but also a new feature called Acoustic Focus, this amplifies a subjects volume as you zoom in on it.
Finally
The HTC U11 is a really good phone, it has really good hardware, fast software and very good battery life. HTC has tried to set the U11 apart from the crowd with the squeeze gesture which I think is a bit gimmicky and it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of the S8 and G6 but those small niggles aside the HTC U11 is a really great android smartphone it’s more understated but can compete with the best phones on the market.
The HTC U11 is given an Overall Rating based on Design, Features, Performance, Camera & Battery Life out of 10.
Priced From $650US/ £600/ $1,000CDN
My Overall RATING: 8.4 out of 10
Also, Check Out:
The Samsung Galaxy S8 2017 Review HERE
The Best Smartphones of 2017 HERE
The Best Budget Smartphones Under $300 HERE
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