HTC has introduced its U11 flagship Android smartphone that has “edge sense” – “U” can short or long squeeze the phone’s sides to initiate various actions.
HTC has long realised that there is only so much you can do with a “glass slab” so the U11 is one hell of a glass slab – specification wise – with two unique features.
First, is the Edge Sense that will become a SDK to allow app developers to make context sensitive use of it and second, is the HTC Sense companion that while still embryonic, will help the phone to become more useful to you in a way Google Assistant cannot.
The edge sense is clever – the bottom half of the set – where you typically grasp it – is sensitive to pressure – not touch – and in its initial incarnation allows you to allocate actions to the short and long squeeze. Force levels are adjustable.
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As for the glass slab, it has everything you could expect from a flagship and meets or exceeds iTWire’s paradigms for same.
In launching the U11 HTC has adjusted the pricing of the 5.7” HTC U Ultra to $899 (think LG V20 competitor with a ticker screen) and the 5.2” HTC U Play to $649. You can also find these online for a little less – take care you buy the Australian version.
Specifications
- Screen: 5 inch, Quad HD (2560 x 1440), Super LCD 5, 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, eight core, 4 x 2.45GHz/4 x 1.9GHz
- RAM/Storage/microSD: 4GB/64GB/up to 2TB OTG and micro-USB
- Rear camera: 12MP, UltraPixel 3, 1.4μm pixel, f/1.7, dual OIS/EIS, dual LED, laser auto-focus, HDR, 4K record, acoustic focus
- Front camera: 16MP, f/2.0, 150° panorama, HDR, HD record
- Audio: HTC USonic with active noise cancellation earphones, HTC BoomSound, 3D audio record with four microphones, no 3.5mm audio (USB-3.5mm dongle/DAC included)
- IP: IP67 will work when screen is wet and with gloves
- LTE: Cat 16 1Gbps/75Mbps, bands 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41 with 2CA, 3CA, and 4CA, VolTE and Wi-Fi calling
- Comms: Wi-Fi AC dual band, 2 x 2 MU-MIMO, Wi-Di, DLNA, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, fingerprint
- Battery: 3000mAh, USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
- OS; Android 7.1.1 with guaranteed update to 8.x
- Additional: Always on voice commands, various motion launches, Sensor Hub. Supports Google Assistant and Amazon Echo (country dependent)
- Colours: Amazing Silver, Brilliant Black, Ice White, Sapphire Blue, Solar Red (not all available in Australia)
iTWire had a briefing and was impressed with the edge sense, the sound quality from HTC BoomSound and USonic buds, the display was vivid (for an LCD), acoustic focus (video focus follows the noise of a group) and the build quality was excellent. Reviews will happen over the coming weeks.
This article was under embargo until 5PM, 16/05/17 and will be updated as soon as possible with local pricing, web site etc.
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