HTC U Ultra vs iPhone 7 Plus vs Google Pixel XL: Specs comparison

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HTC just announced two new smartphones called the HTC U Ultra and U Play. While both have been designed to center around you, the user, the U Play is the more affordable and compact option with weaker specs in tow, while the U Ultra is a premium smartphone through and through, and it will be competing for your money with the current top smartphones on the market. The question is: how does it compare to them?

HTC U Ultra sports an all-glass design with aluminum accents, a secondary display on top of its massive 5.7-inch display, similar to the "ticker" screens found on the LG V10 and V20, as well as 16MP cameras on both the back and the front. However, it also comes with a price tag to match all the bells and whistles – $749. So, with that said, is the HTC U Ultra worthy of your money, or should you look at other current flagships instead? Let's see how it compares to the iPhone 7 Plus and the Google Pixel XL:


HTC U Ultra Apple iPhone 7 Plus Google Pixel XL

Design

Dimensions
6.39 x 3.14 x 0.31 inches
162.41 x 79.79 x 7.99 mm
6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm
6.09 x 2.98 x 0.34 inches
154.72 x 75.74 x 8.6 mm
Weight
6.00 oz (170.0 g) 6.63 oz (188.0 g) 5.93 oz (168.0 g)
Materials
Back: Glass
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Aluminum Back: Aluminum, Glass
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP67 Splash, Dust; IP53
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys Notification light
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Pink, Blue, White Black, Gold, Silver, Red, Rose gold, Jet black Black, Gray, Blue

Display

Size
5.7-inch 5.5-inch 5.5-inch
Resolution
2560x1440px, 513 PPI 1920x1080px, 16:9 ratio, 401 PPI 2560x1440px, 16:9 ratio, 534 PPI
Technology
S-LCD 5 IPS LCD AMOLED
Screen-to-body
69.19 % 67.58 % 71.22 %
Colors
16 777 216
Peak brightness
625 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Additional display
2.0 inches, 160 x1040 px, IPS LCD

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro-AB Apple A10 Fusion APL1W24 (16 nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Processor
Quad-core
2150 MHz
Kryo
Quad-core
2340 MHz
Quad-core
2150 MHz
Kryo
GPU
Adreno 530 PowerVR 7XT GT7600 Plus Adreno 530
RAM
4GB (LPDDR4) 3GB (LPDDR4) 4GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
64GB 256GB 128GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 2000 GB not expandable not expandable
OS
Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat) iOS (15.x, 14.x, 13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x) Android (10, 9.0 Pie, 8.1 Oreo, 8.0 Oreo, 7.1 Nougat)

Battery

Capacity
3000 mAh 2900 mAh 3450 mAh
Type
Li - Ion Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 USB Power Delivery

Camera

Rear
Single camera Dual camera Single camera
Main camera
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, Laser and PDAF, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F1.8
Sensor size: 1/2.3"
Pixel size: 1.55 μm
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F1.8
Focal length: 28 mm
Sensor size: 1/3"
Pixel size: 1.22 μm
12.3 MP (Laser and PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.0
Sensor size: 1/2.3"
Pixel size: 1.55 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Telephoto, Sapphire crystal lens cover, Autofocus)
Optical zoom: 2.0x
Aperture size: F2.8
Focal Length: 56 mm
Sensor size: 1/3.6"
Pixel size: 1 μm
Flash
Dual LED Quad LED Dual LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Hyperlapse, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (120 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)
OIS, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (120 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)
Video calling, Video sharing
Front
16 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR), Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 7 MP (HDR), Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 8 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.2 4.2
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1 Lightning Type-C, USB 3.0
Hearing aid compatible
M4/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer
Other
NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack No 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Multiple speakers Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,SlimPort
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+) Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+) Bands 41(2600+)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 12 (600/100 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A Cat 12 (600/100 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A Cat 11 (600/75 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA, UMTS
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes Yes
VoLTE
Yes Yes

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Aug 02, 2017
FCC ID value: NM82PZF100
Date approved: Sep 07, 2016
FCC ID value: BCG-E3087A
Date approved: Feb 12, 2017
FCC ID value: NM8G-2PW2100
Measured SAR
Head: 1.03 W/kg
Body: 0.22 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.26 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.54 W/kg
Head: 1.09 W/kg
Body: 1.10 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.52 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.13 W/kg
Head: 0.89 W/kg
Measured in: 1900 MHz
Body: 0.56 W/kg
Measured in: 1900 MHz
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.15 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.56 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 749 $ 969 $ 869

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 12, 2017 Sep 07, 2016 Oct 04, 2016


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