HTC U11

Before I get into the full lowdown, let’s tackle the U11’s headlining squeeze feature right up front. HTC calls it Edge Sense, and it's activated by squeezing the lower part of phone from both sides. It took me a few tries initially to get the hang of how to press the phone from the sides to activate Edge Sense. But then I discovered the best way to do it is to use the lumpy part of the palm (basically the base of the thumb) cradling one side of the phone, and applying pressure using fingers from the other side. The phone vibrates to indicate it has registered the press and goes on to perform the task allocated to action.

The U11 continues with the same design ethos as the U Ultra (review) - which means it looks pretty good, especially from the rear. The glass body seems fragile and is very prone to smudges and fingerprints, but stands out in a crowd. HTC launched the U11 in five hues, and it remains to be seen what colours make it to India. The blue is my personal favourite, but the red is rather nice too. The layered glass design reflects light differently when you see it from different angles, effectively changing the colours depending on available light. So the blue can look purple, while the red changes from anything to orange to gold. The silver unit I have changes to grey or blue, as is evident from the pictures. It’s a personal choice of course, but suffice to say that the overall look is rather unique.

The U11’s primary shooter has received a score of 90 from DxOMARK, which is the highest ever figure for a smartphone. This one-ups the Google Pixel’s score of 89, and indicates how capable the U11’s shooter really is, at least on paper. The HTC U11 brings exciting camera with it for sure - a 12MP primary sensor with large pixel size, OIS, f/1.7 aperture, PDAF, Auto HDR, and support for 4k, slow-mo and RAW stills shooting, it’s loaded to the gills. It also boasts dual pixel tech, dubbed UltraSpeed Autofocus in this case. At the front is a 16MP sensor, rocking UltraPixel tech for better selfies in low light. There are other goodies too - four microphones placed all around the device enable 3D audio recording while shooting videos, while a new feature called Acoustic Zoom amplifies the sound when you zoom into subjects.

HTC pulled out all the stops when it comes to the raw specs of its latest flagship. The 5.5-inch Super LCD 5 screen rocks 2k resolution, and while it doesn’t match the punchiness of the Samsung Galaxy S8’s Super AMOLED display, it’s still quite capable and vibrant. And then there are the innards - the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 processor, 6 gigs of RAM, and 128GB storage. Things hardly get better than this as far as smartphones go. In fact, the variant that I’m using for this review only comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, but the model making its way to India would be the higher-end version. And as things stand, my usage with the 4GB RAM model was butter smooth - apps and games (both regular and heavy), worked smoothly, and I didn’t face any jitters while navigating around or multitasking. Goes without saying that the higher-end model should be even better in terms of performance. The fingerprint sensor integrated into the home button at front works well too.

The U11 is all set to land in India very soon  , and as soon as it does, it’s going to be challenged by the Samsung Galaxy S8. The LG G6 (review) is a very strong rival too and in the premium space, all flagships need to go head on with the Apple iPhone 7 Plus (review) anyway. The upcoming OnePlus 5 will also be a big threat too of course. However, I think the U11’s main competition is going to be Samsung’s current flagship. In this scenario, HTC’s flagship contender is looking at a tough battle ahead. I don’t have a price for the U11 yet, and HTC’s pricing strategy hasn’t been great in the past. That said, I do expect the brand to set an aggressive price for its latest flagship this time around. However, do keep in mind that it’s a premium device - so expect a price upwards of half a lakh ruppes. HTC’s decision to launch the 6GB RAM variant in India makes sense, given how spec-obsessed most of us are. And if it can price the smartphone well, I think the HTC U11 makes for a compelling purchase. It packs in a smorgasbord of features, frills and bundled goodies, and offers the looks, performance and camera capabilities expected from a top-end, premium smartphone. Combined with the handy Edge Sense built in, the new smartphone from HTC looks like a complete package, and one that can match anything else out there. The U11 I think, brings back HTC into the reckoning in the premium flagship space, and just for that, deserves a long, hard, and careful look.