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Back in January, HTC announced a duo of smartphones, the HTC U Ultra and U Play, which, although fresh-looking and unique in their own respective ways, failed to generate a lot of excitement. Part of the reason why the pair didn't enjoy a lot of limelight was the fact that it came out packing Snapdragon's last year flagship CPU, when people were getting excited for the brand new, more powerful, and more battery-friendly Snapdragon 835.
HTC promised that, when the new top-of-the-line CPU is available, it would come out with a smartphone to match. The Taiwanese tech giant has kept its word by launching the HTC U11 with SD 835 on board, and it comes with a host new features to get excited over! Let's see what's changed since last year's HTC 10:
HTC promised that, when the new top-of-the-line CPU is available, it would come out with a smartphone to match. The Taiwanese tech giant has kept its word by launching the HTC U11 with SD 835 on board, and it comes with a host new features to get excited over! Let's see what's changed since last year's HTC 10:
HTC 10 vs HTC U11: The new features
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HTC back in January announced a duo of smartphones, the HTC U Ultra and U Play, which, although fresh-looking and unique in their own respective ways, failed to generate a lot of excitement. Part of the reason why the duo didn't enjoy a lot of limelight was the fact that it came out packing Snapdragon's last year flagship CPU, when people were getting excited for the brand new, more powerful, more battery-friendly Snapdragon 835.
HTC Edge Sense
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Although the HTC U11 doesn't bump up the resolution of the primary camera, it employs third-gen UltraPixel technology and drops laser-assisted auto-focus for a dual-pixel focus system. The selfie shooter, however, has seen a considerable upgrade in resolution – from 5MP to 16MP. HTC boasts that the main camera of the U11 has been rated a 90 on DxOMark – the only smartphone camera to achieve this high of a rating. We're eager to try it out ourselves!
Better selfie camera
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HTC U11 introduces the latest version of HTC's USonic tech, which now combines Active Noise Cancellation with the ability to tune audio to your unique hearing. The stereo speakers also got an upgrade and are capable of delivering better dynamic range, richer mids and highs, and clearer and deeper bass. Further, the HTC U11 brings 3D audio to the table, allowing you to record audio from all directions using the 4 microphones on board. There's even a curious audio “zoom” feature that amplifies the sound when you zoom in on its source while shooting video/
Better audio playback and recording capabilities
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Three brains are better than one, says HTC, so inside the U11 you'll find not one, not two, but three AI assistants devoted to you: the HTC Sense Companion, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. Wow, that's a heck of a lot of virtual assistance right there! HTC also touts the squeezable U11 as the first smartphone to feature hands-free wake word access to Amazon Alexa.
All the AI assistants in one phone
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The HTC 10 bared an IP rating of 53, making the handset not even dust-resistant. The U11 changes this by adding a little bit of much-needed ruggedness to HTC's premium line of smartphone. The new flagship is IP67-certified, meaning it is splash- and dust-resistant. Although HTC doesn't recommend that you go swimming with the U11, it can at least withstand a little bit of rain.
Dust- and splash-resistance
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HTC promised that it will deliver a flagship with high-end specs in 2017 and it delivered on the promise. The U11 is powered by the Snapdragon 835, which is faster and more battery-friendly than last year's 821. HTC claims that with the U11, you'll get 25% faster graphics than the HTC 10, with 35% (or 3 hours) longer video playback, 30% (8 hours) longer music playback and 43% (3.5 hours) longer web browsing. Despite this, the U11 retains the same non-removable 3000 mAh battery we saw on the HTC 10.
High-end specs
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Colors have turned into something of a feature for smartphones over the last couple of years. The HTC U11 more than delivers in that area with five dazzling color variants: Ice White (which has some neat color-changing effects but unfortunately won't be coming to the US), Brilliant Black, Sapphire Blue, Solar Red, and Amazing Silver. Those colors are all bonded to the inside of the glass back panels, which are Gorilla Glass 3 by the way, and have been achieved through a series of experimental processes (such as vaporizing minerals, apparently), although HTC is keeping mum on the details.
Sweet new colors
HTC 10 vs HTC U11: The new features
HTC back in January announced a duo of smartphones, the HTC U Ultra and U Play, which, although fresh-looking and unique in their own respective ways, failed to generate a lot of excitement. Part of the reason why the duo didn't enjoy a lot of limelight was the fact that it came out packing Snapdragon's last year flagship CPU, when people were getting excited for the brand new, more powerful, more battery-friendly Snapdragon 835.
HTC 10 vs HTC U11: The new features
1. HTC Edge Sense
HTC back in January announced a duo of smartphones, the HTC U Ultra and U Play, which, although fresh-looking and unique in their own respective ways, failed to generate a lot of excitement. Part of the reason why the duo didn't enjoy a lot of limelight was the fact that it came out packing Snapdragon's last year flagship CPU, when people were getting excited for the brand new, more powerful, more battery-friendly Snapdragon 835.
2. Better selfie camera
Although the HTC U11 doesn't bump up the resolution of the primary camera, it employs third-gen UltraPixel technology and drops laser-assisted auto-focus for a dual-pixel focus system. The selfie shooter, however, has seen a considerable upgrade in resolution – from 5MP to 16MP. HTC boasts that the main camera of the U11 has been rated a 90 on DxOMark – the only smartphone camera to achieve this high of a rating. We're eager to try it out ourselves!
3. Better audio playback and recording capabilities
HTC U11 introduces the latest version of HTC's USonic tech, which now combines Active Noise Cancellation with the ability to tune audio to your unique hearing. The stereo speakers also got an upgrade and are capable of delivering better dynamic range, richer mids and highs, and clearer and deeper bass. Further, the HTC U11 brings 3D audio to the table, allowing you to record audio from all directions using the 4 microphones on board. There's even a curious audio “zoom” feature that amplifies the sound when you zoom in on its source while shooting video/
4. All the AI assistants in one phone
Three brains are better than one, says HTC, so inside the U11 you'll find not one, not two, but three AI assistants devoted to you: the HTC Sense Companion, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. Wow, that's a heck of a lot of virtual assistance right there! HTC also touts the squeezable U11 as the first smartphone to feature hands-free wake word access to Amazon Alexa.
5. Dust- and splash-resistance
The HTC 10 bared an IP rating of 53, making the handset not even dust-resistant. The U11 changes this by adding a little bit of much-needed ruggedness to HTC's premium line of smartphone. The new flagship is IP67-certified, meaning it is splash- and dust-resistant. Although HTC doesn't recommend that you go swimming with the U11, it can at least withstand a little bit of rain.
6. High-end specs
HTC promised that it will deliver a flagship with high-end specs in 2017 and it delivered on the promise. The U11 is powered by the Snapdragon 835, which is faster and more battery-friendly than last year's 821. HTC claims that with the U11, you'll get 25% faster graphics than the HTC 10, with 35% (or 3 hours) longer video playback, 30% (8 hours) longer music playback and 43% (3.5 hours) longer web browsing. Despite this, the U11 retains the same non-removable 3000 mAh battery we saw on the HTC 10.
7. Sweet new colors
Colors have turned into something of a feature for smartphones over the last couple of years. The HTC U11 more than delivers in that area with five dazzling color variants: Ice White (which has some neat color-changing effects but unfortunately won't be coming to the US), Brilliant Black, Sapphire Blue, Solar Red, and Amazing Silver. Those colors are all bonded to the inside of the glass back panels, which are Gorilla Glass 3 by the way, and have been achieved through a series of experimental processes (such as vaporizing minerals, apparently), although HTC is keeping mum on the details.
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