The HTC U11 is arguably the Taiwanese company’s most complete flagship smartphone yet. It has a unique pressure-sensitive frame, a very promising camera, and even water resistance. However, how does it stack up to its competition? Well, that’s where our updated spec sheet comes in.
Technically speaking, the HTC U11 is the HTC 10‘s successor, and it sports quite a number of improvements. As expected, the U11 comes with the very capable (and more power-efficient) 10nm Snapdragon 835 processor, more RAM at 6GB, as well as a much more generous 128GB internal storage – this is the variant the Malaysian market will receive.
When it comes to design, the U11 follows in the HTC U Ultra‘s footstep – instead of HTC’s signature all-metal unibody design, the U11 sports an arguably more aesthetically-pleasing glass and metal construction. On top of that, we’re quite a fan of the “liquid glass surface” finish too, which gives the U11 a premium touch.
Without a doubt the U11 can hold its own against other flagship devices unveiled this year. While it’s not as sleek-looking as the Samsung Galaxy S8+, it comes with more RAM and internal storage. The U11 also features a similar autofocus system as the S8+, which the company dubs “UltraSpeed Autofocus.” In theory, the S8+’s excellent autofocus speeds should be present on the U11 as well.
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And then we have the U11’s most interesting feature yet: Edge Sense. Basically, this feature allows users to perform customisable actions by simply squeezing the U11’s frame. Not only is this a feature not available on any other smartphone (yet, that is), we imagine the extra layer of interaction will open up a number of interesting applications.
However, there is one area where the U11 isn’t quite on par with its competition: battery capacity. For a 5.5-inch device, the U11’s 3,000mAh battery does raise a few concerns. Take the 5.15-inch Xiaomi Mi 6: despite being physically smaller than the U11, it still packs a larger 3,350mAh battery.
Nonetheless, the HTC U11 is showing a lot of promise; something that cannot be said of the company’s previous attempt. Hopefully, the U11 will have good battery life despite its modest battery capacity. Considering the fact that the U11 may be priced similarly to the HTC U Ultra Sapphire Edition in Malaysia, it may just be a very compelling flagship smartphone.
