HTC has officially announced the U11 after months of speculations and rumors. The device is every bit as impressive as we expected, but there are some bonuses on board here as well. Overall, we are very impressed with the hardware and software combination opted by HTC. One can only hope that the device will give the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the LG G6 a run for their money. There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack with the HTC U11, which is mildly disappointing. Users will have to rely on the USB Type-C port for their music, although it is likely that HTC will offer an adapter for backward compatibility with 3.5mm earbuds.
The smartphone will be up for grabs in select markets later this month for $649 (Rs 41,600 approx), although we can’t tell for sure if the pricing will remain consistent in all parts of the world. I’m particularly curious about Edge Sense, which allows users to open apps with a squeeze of the phone from the edges. You can select apps to open with a soft or a hard grip around the edges. There will be an app launching shortly which will allow you to include non-HTC apps with Edge Sense. This basically means that third-party app developers won’t have to update their app to gain compatibility.
The HTC U11 will also come with support for Amazon Alexa, although it will only be available after the handset reaches the shelves. Google Assistant is built-in by default, giving users the choice between two of the best voice assistants in the market today. Chinese markets will have Baidu's DuerOS, which will act as a regional virtual assistant. The camera on board the HTC U11 has received the highest ever rating for both photos and videos, which tells us that this is the best camera phone on the market today.
Lastly, the phone has an IP67 certification for water and dust resistance, making this a complete flagship. There are no specifics regarding an Indian launch at the moment.
Hardware specifications of the HTC U11:
Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD (2560x1440)
Panel Dimensions: 153.9 x 75.9 x 7.9mm, 169 grams
Processor: Octa-core Snapdragon 835
Camera: 12MP rear camera f/1.7 sensor with OIS, 16MP front camera
RAM: 4/6GB Storage: 64/128GB (expandable via microSD)
OS: Android 7.1 Nougat
Battery: 3,000mAh
Connectivity: 4G LTE
