What tricks do smartphone manufacturers go to in order to attract the attention of users... The fancy functions, “off-scale” scores in tests and the abundance of models in general dazzle many in the eyes. But among this abundance there are also very useful, sometimes irreplaceable functions. With the right approach, they become constant companions in the life of a modern person.
Most people turn a blind eye to the platform's technical process, memory size, and even the type of screen matrix. We are primarily concerned with price, speed and design. Also important are the useful software solutions present in devices to make our lives easier. I would like to talk about them, taking the HTC U Ultra smartphone as an example.
Design
At one time, the company became the standard for design solutions in smartphones. HTC developers managed to make a splash with the Sense shell, which was many times nicer than the “naked” Android of the first versions. In general, HTC smartphones were recognizable from the first models.
Over time, the devices gained their own flavor, stood out even more among other devices, they were endowed with an all-metal body - this brought enormous popularity and set the tone for other smartphone manufacturers.
The HTC Ultra line has acquired a radically new exterior - the design has been redesigned virtually from scratch. However, HTC managed to preserve the originality - the “space” body is difficult to confuse with other models, the “glass” trend has been followed. The HTC U Ultra comes with a transparent bumper case that will provide the case with additional protection from damage. The included case is a smart solution, since today it is still not easy to find suitable accessories for phones with a large screen.
At different lighting angles, the “back” acquires shades from blue-black to deep green, depending on the chosen color. Roundings at the ends enhance the visual effect. Other manufacturers have already begun to copy this “trick”.
Thanks to its ergonomic design, the device fits nicely in your hand, despite its considerable dimensions. Yes, a 5.7" smartphone can be convenient, and HTC has proven this. If desired, the device can be operated with one hand.
On a table, the Ultra doesn't resemble a swing. By the way, the included bumper practically “eats” the small protrusion of the main camera, while at the same time additionally protecting the back and camera from scratches.
The SIM tray is located at the top end; it is a classic frame for 2 cards, combined with microSD. HTC U Ultra has only one connector – USB Type-C at the bottom. It combines the functions of charging and outputting sound to the included headphones – we’ll talk about this separately.
More photos under the spoiler:
Spoiler
Screen
...or rather, screens. There are two of them, and this immediately catches your eye - the additional display is located next to the front camera module. There is no point in talking about the resolution and color rendition of the second display - it plays a purely additional role. Although, the icons and text on it look clear and bright.
The main display with a diagonal of 5.7 forms the considerable dimensions of the device. It is important to realize that the larger it is, the higher the convenience of working with applications, but sometimes you will have to use both hands.
The Quad HD display boasts rich colors, high brightness and a wide range of adjustment. It looks great in games and apps, and the photos on the screen look bright and attractive.
All the modern bells and whistles of the screen are in place: good oleophobicity, support for 10 simultaneous touches, glove mode, gesture control, color temperature change. It's even possible to change the resolution. I would also like to note the night mode: the color temperature in it can be set much lower than in daytime mode. The interface is painted in sunset tones, which corresponds to human biorhythms - according to scientific research, high color temperature negatively affects the quality of sleep. In practice, I use such modes all the time - at the same time they reduce eye strain.
Performance and OS
Benchmark scores show that the system-on-chip used in the HTC U Ultra will more than last for a couple of years. Enough. All modern mobile games run on the device at high or maximum settings. The work of applications can be described with a well-known term: “flying”. A slight heating of the middle of the rear panel is felt only during games, charging and updating the OS. It does not cause any particular discomfort, and is completely absent in everyday use.
Spoiler
The proprietary HTC Sense shell has become even more pleasant: high personalization possibilities through the HTC Themes application, no limitations of the standard “grid” and, as a result, a predetermined arrangement of objects on the desktop, and so on. In use it is still a recognizable and convenient shell.
More screenshots:
Spoiler
In the U series, HTC Sense has another feature. Sense Companion assistant, which learns the user's habits and provides tips based on them. After 10 days of use, he has already learned something - the result of his work can be seen in the behavior of the additional screen and system prompts.
Spoiler
Sense Companion, like the entire shell, is deeply integrated with the secondary screen, and this is what I liked most about the U Ultra. Firstly, various kinds of reminders and notifications are constantly in front of your eyes, even when the main screen is turned off. For an office clerk, this is simply irreplaceable. Secondly, from here you can quickly go to the list of applications and contacts that you can configure yourself. Thirdly, you can control music playback, be aware of the weather, and use the second screen to zoom in the camera application. Very comfortably.
Cameras
Rantations on the topic of the best mobile camera have already set the teeth on edge. At the same time, the wishes of users come down to one thing: the photo module is needed in order to “take it out and take a picture.” Few people turn to manual settings or, better yet, use a tripod for their smartphone. HTC took this into account and rid the camera application of unnecessary garbage, concentrating only on popular functions, and transferred the possibilities for deep manual settings to a separate “Pro” mode. As a result, the default main camera mode offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface with the ability to simultaneously shoot photos and videos.
Photos from cameras:
Spoiler
On the U Ultra “ultra-pixel” camera, with an increased pixel size (up to 1.55 microns), the pictures come out great, especially in daytime conditions. The detail and brightness are pleasing to the eye, the automatic system copes well with overexposure, and focusing is lightning fast.
At dusk, the matrix is a little noisy, but the automation smoothes out artifacts.
A similar situation is observed with the front 16MP camera. She's great at taking selfies. And after the update, it also supports the ability to shoot in RAW format.
The main camera has a multi-axis optical stabilization system, so when shooting video, stabilization and focusing behave quite adequately. There is the possibility of slow motion shooting and time lapse mode. In general, everything you need is at hand. And the U Ultra camera is one of the few, if not the only one, capable of recording 4K video along with Hi-Res Audio Stereo sound. So when going to a club or concert, don’t forget to take your smartphone with you.
Sound
HTC engineers followed the fashion trend and rid the U Ultra of the 3.5 mm jack, but made it much more interesting than other manufacturers. There is no need to use inconvenient adapters here - the sound is provided by the Type-C connector. When you connect the supplied headphones to it, the U Sonic system is activated: the headphones analyze the auricle using impulses and noise, and then adapt the sound to the owner of the device
The effect is noticeable: any audio track begins to sound cleaner and brighter, the frequency response curve looks much more pleasant. In fact, automation not only eliminates unnecessary manipulations with the equalizer, it truly feels the user. The active noise reduction system, in turn, “listens” to the world around you and levels out noise, which makes listening comfortable even in the subway.
Using four microphones located on the body, the smartphone can record 3D sound. Thus, video recorded on U Ultra is enhanced by the effect of presence and realistically conveys the surrounding space.
Sound in games and videos is played in stereo mode. For this purpose, the main and conversational speakers are used, and the Boom Sound program allows you to switch between sound profiles. I’ll be honest – there haven’t been any smartphones with mono sound yet!
Autonomy
The 3000 capacity battery easily provides a day of stable operation under standard load. With very intensive use, the charge will last for 6-7 hours, but for this you will have to not let go of the device. How often do you do this? I think no.
If you properly configure the system (especially using Boost+) and refuse to use automatic brightness adjustment, you can easily use the device for about a day and a half without additional charging. This is also reflected in the excellent optimization of the software and hardware base by the manufacturer.
Taking into account the fact that the complete unit supports Quck Charge 3.0, you can revive a discharged device quite quickly: charging to 50% will take about half an hour, to 100% – about an hour and a half.
Specifications
| Displays | 5.7 inches, IPS, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 513 ppi, capacitive multi-touch + second display, 2.05 inches, 1040 × 160 |
| Protective glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 (Dual 2.35GHz Kryo Cores + Dual 1.36GHz Kryo Cores) |
| Graphics controller | Adreno 530, 624 MHz |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Flash memory | 64/128 GB |
| Memory card support | Eat |
| Flash memory | 64/128 GB |
| Connectors | USB Type-C |
| SIM cards | Two nano-SIMs |
| Cellular connection 2G | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz |
| Cellular 3G | HSDPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 |
| Cellular 4G | LTE Cat. 11 (up to 600 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 |
| WiFi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| NFC | Eat |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou |
| Sensors | Light, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, digital compass, Sensor Hub |
| Main camera | 12 MP, ƒ/1.8, hybrid autofocus (laser + phase detection), optical stabilization, 2-color LED flash, 4K video recording with Hi-Res Audio, Slow motion video shooting with a resolution of 720p/120 fps give me a sec. |
| Front-camera | 16 MP, fixed focus |
| Nutrition | Non-removable battery 3000 mAh. QuickCharge3.0 fast charging system |
| Size | 162.4 × 79.8 × 8 mm |
| Weight | 170 grams |
| Housing protection | No |
| operating system | Android 7.0 Nougat, HTC Sense |
conclusions
My impressions of using HTC U Ultra were very pleasant. Great design, high-quality screen, high performance and good battery life - this is exactly what the modern user needs.
I would like to improve the quality of shooting in the dark a little; the manufacturer will probably fix this in new firmware. By the way, during use, an update arrived “over the air”, after which the device began to work a little longer.
The lack of a 3.5mm jack is not a drawback. U Sonic provides excellent sound and adequate noise reduction.
As a result, we can say that HTC U Ultra is a very beautiful and well-balanced smartphone. 
It is designed to compete with the Huawei P10 Plus and fill the void left after the curtailment of production of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The smartphone offers users a number of unusual features and innovations.
The two most interesting new features are an additional display located directly above the main screen, and the Sense AI function, which will allow the phone to learn the user’s habits and automatically perform certain actions for him.
The innovations are quite interesting, but, unfortunately, U Ultra fails to fully live up to expectations. Basic concepts like battery life and camera quality leave much to be desired.
- Supports two SIM cards (Nano-SIM, two radio modules)
- SoC Qualcomm MSM8996 (Snapdragon 821), 2x2.15 GHz + 2x1.6 GHz, 4 Kryo cores
- GPU Adreno 530
- Operating system Android 7.0 Nougat
- Touch display Super LCD5, 5.7”, 2560x1440, 513 ppi
- Additional display 1040x160 pixels, 2.05”
- Protective glass Gorilla Glass (version with 64 GB memory) / Sapphire glass (version with 128 GB memory)
- RAM: 4 GB, internal memory: 64/128 GB
- Supports microSD memory cards up to 256 GB (memory card will occupy the second SIM card slot)
- Communication GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- Communication 3G 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
- Communication LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) with a maximum data transfer rate of 600 (reception) / 50 (transmission) Mb/s
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
- Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
- USB 3.1 Type-C
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
- Camera 12 MP, f/1.8 aperture, 26 mm, optical image stabilization, laser and phase detection autofocus, dual LED flash, video recording 2160p@30fps, 720p@120fps
- Front camera 16 MP, video recording 1080p, auto-HDR
- Non-removable lithium polymer battery, 3000 mAh
- Dimensions 162.4 x 79.8 x 8 mm
- Weight 170 g
Design
HTC has always prided itself on its approach to design. The flagship smartphones from the One line have always looked amazing. This is why the U Ultra's design may seem like a step back from the HTC One to many. HTC U Ultra looks like the “ugly duckling” of the company’s entire line of smartphones.
The U Ultra HTC 64Gb abandoned the metal design and decided to use a glass back panel. And if the glass were as first-class as on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, then there would be no point in complaining. Unfortunately, the back of the HTC U Ultra feels more plastic than glass, and collects fingerprints at an incredible rate. It also seems quite fragile and bends noticeably if you just press lightly on it. This phone clearly won't withstand an accidental drop or bump.
HTC has once again decided not to include a headphone jack on the phone. The smartphone user will have to either buy wireless headphones or use the included USB-C adapter. This may seem like a small thing to some, but if you're used to listening to music while charging your phone, the lack of a headphone jack can be a serious problem.
The lack of a dedicated memory card slot turned out to be another reason for bewilderment. Hopefully, 64 or 128 gigabytes of memory will be more than enough for most users. In the dual SIM model, it is possible to replace one of the SIM cards with a memory card up to 256 GB.
If you forget about all the problems, the device does not feel so bad in your hand. Despite the fact that the back panel becomes slippery from moisture (which is especially noticeable during rain), the small thickness and acceptable weight of the device allows you to put it even in a jeans pocket, despite its large dimensions.
The fingerprint scanner located on the front panel works quite quickly and does not raise any complaints about the quality of its work. However, in rainy weather, it may not recognize the user’s fingerprint the first time - just like any other scanners.
Display
One of the main features of the HTC U Ultra 64Gb is its two displays. The system works in much the same way as in the LG V10 and V20 - an additional 2-inch monitor is placed above the main 5.7-inch 1440p display.
The secondary display will show notifications and shortcuts to various applications and contacts. With it you can control some applications - for example, a music player. The ability to customize the secondary display with your own shortcuts is a benefit, but people with small hands will have to struggle to reach the top of the device.
The main display also looks quite good. The 1440p resolution gives text and icons plenty of sharpness. The Super LCD 5 panel offers realistic-looking colors that won't feel too warm or cold. Compared to Super AMOLED, the black color looks insufficiently saturated, but not so much that it interferes with the comfortable use of the smartphone.
The only complaint that can be made to the display is the purity of the white color. The quality of white color rendering is not up to par with other high-end smartphones. It's not as bad as some might think, but sometimes the white color will take on a grayish or even red tint, especially when looking at the display at an angle.
Another problem with the HTC U Ultra display is the low maximum brightness. In dark rooms, users will not have any problems, but on the street or near bright lamps, the display quickly begins to reflect light, and the phone becomes very uncomfortable to use even at maximum brightness. A slow-responding sensor for automatic brightness adjustment does not help the situation.
Software
The HTC U Ultra 64Gb software is one of the best advantages of the device. The smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat OS with HTC Sense shell installed.
Nougat is the latest version of Android, which includes a number of improvements. Android 7.0 has improved the Doze battery saving feature, improved multitasking support, and also improved the interface and notification system.
All sorts of shells for Android from different manufacturers are not always good. They usually include unnecessary, uninstallable applications that take up too much space. In addition, when major updates are released for Android - for example, the recent Android O Developer Preview - the manufacturer has to rewrite the shell for the new version of the system, which slows down the speed of update releases.
The last problem still affects HTC Sense to some extent. Fortunately, the rest of HTC Sense does not cause any complaints. For the past few years, HTC has been committed to not installing apps that replicate existing Android functionality. So, unlike the Huawei P10, LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S7, the HTC U Ultra 64Gb will not have two (or even three) applications installed for viewing photos, listening to music, and so on.
HTC's additional services are mostly useful. For example, HTC Blinkfeed offers a fresh selection of news tailored to the user's interests. Using Blinkfeed is as simple as swiping from left to right on your home screen. The selection is very easy to customize and very easy to use.
The Sense Companion service, alas, is not that useful. It shows the user various recommendations - for example, if Sense Companion thinks you might be interested in a nearby restaurant, it will show you its location and reviews. Sounds good in theory, but Android already has Google Assistant for this. Given Google's experience in data analysis and machine learning, the second service looks much more attractive.
Performance
HTC equipped the U Ultra with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and four gigabytes of RAM. This is considered the norm for a modern flagship smartphone, but soon the Samsung Galaxy S8 will appear on the market - the first device equipped with the Snapdragon 835. Alas, the Snapdragon 821 will soon have to retire. So far, the processor speed and memory capacity of HTC U Ultra are enough for any task, including demanding 3D games.
Impressions from using the smartphone were confirmed after running several synthetic benchmarks. In AnTuTu, the HTC U Ultra scored an impressive 138,168 points. This is one of the best results on current generation smartphones. In GeekBench 4, the smartphone scored 1716 points in single-core mode and 4101 points in all-core mode. For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S7 scored 122,765 points in AnTuTu and 1187/3675 points in GeekBench (single core/all cores).
Unfortunately, with the release of Snapdragon 835-based devices, the HTC U Ultra's results will no longer seem impressive. The reference device based on Snapdragon 835 scored 181,833 points in AnTuTu.
The smartphone uses fairly good speakers. They are not so good that you can comfortably listen to music with them, but for hands-free conversations they will be more than enough - the sound is loud enough and clear. The microphone also does not cause any complaints - the interlocutor will hear you, even if you are in the city center.
Camera
HTC U Ultra is equipped with a main camera with a resolution of 12 UltraPixel and support for optical image stabilization. On the front panel there is a 16-megapixel camera with UltraPixel mode for automatic HDR and shooting in low light conditions.
It is worth explaining what UltraPixel technology is. HTC's marketing department uses this term to describe the shooting technology that has been introduced into HTC's flagship smartphones since the release of the original HTC One.
The cameras in HTC smartphones capture three times more light using larger pixels than conventional cameras, or so the company claims. In theory, this means UltraPixel cameras can take photos, apply filters, and transfer images faster because less data is taken when shooting. It sounds good, but in reality the quality of the photos still leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, in the case of HTC U Ultra, nothing has changed.
The main camera is equipped with an optical stabilizer and an f/1.8 aperture. This is also good in theory, and even in normal lighting the camera takes good pictures, but sometimes the photos turn out to be overexposed.
The camera's low-light performance is also slightly disappointing. In the dark, the camera works much slower - there is a noticeable delay between pressing the record button and starting recording. Unfortunately, similar problems are observed with video recording. At the same time, the camera can shoot videos in a resolution of 2160p (30fps), as well as slow motion (720p@120fps).
Battery
Unfortunately, the HTC U Ultra has a rather weak battery. Despite the impressive dimensions of the device, the manufacturer equipped it with a simple lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh. A phablet simply lacks such battery capacity, even taking into account the energy-saving features of Android Nougat.
You will have to charge your smartphone daily. With normal use (2-3 calls per day, watching several videos on YouTube, listening to music, constantly checking email and social networks), the smartphone loses charge very quickly. More intense tasks drain the battery even more - even with the brightness reduced to 50%, watching several videos on YouTube left the smartphone without 15-18% charge. Games kill the battery even faster - HTC U Ultra lost 25-30% of its charge after briefly playing Riptide GP2 and The Banner Saga.
Fortunately, Android Doze functionality prevents the smartphone from losing charge so quickly in standby mode. The operating system shuts down non-critical processes when the phone is not used for an extended period of time. Overnight, HTC U Ultra lost only 3% of its charge.
Bottom line
As a phablet, the HTC U Ultra is very good. Although the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is about to cease being the flagship in the field of mobile processors, the processor itself is still very powerful. The smartphone is equipped with a wonderful screen. And with very few phablets on the market right now, the HTC U Ultra is sure to be of interest to fans of large-screen devices.
Unfortunately, the HTC U Ultra is not without some serious shortcomings. The smartphone discharges very quickly, and the camera’s shooting quality is not up to par with competitors like the Huawei H10 Plus. In addition, HTC U Ultra even in its basic configuration costs $749. So it will interest either the most devoted HTC fans or lovers of devices with large screens.
Pros:
- Excellent hardware platform;
- Almost no unnecessary software;
- Good display quality.
Minuses:
- Weak battery;
- Not the best camera;
- Feels downright cheap.
Video review of HTC U Ultra
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Artem Lutfullin usually writes about HTC smartphones, but this time I took the company’s device for testing. I have extremely warm memories of the company, because the first smartphone on Android was their HTC Desire HD, and in the future their flagships were perceived mostly positively. It was all the more interesting for me to get to know the new U Ultra.
The U line is the top line for the company and replaces the One. At the moment there are two smartphones in the line - U Ultra and U Play. If you remember, One has always had three models:
- Flagship HTC One
- HTC One Max phablet
- Mini version of the flagship HTC One Mini
Following this logic, U is missing a flagship smartphone and its first leaks have already appeared online. We are, of course, talking about U11, which the company will show on May 16. And the U Ultra being reviewed today takes pride of place as a phablet.
Characteristics
| Specifications | |
| Class | Phablet |
| Form factor | Monoblock |
| Housing materials | Glass |
| operating system | Android 7.0 + HTC Sense |
| Net | 2G: 850/900/1800/1900 3G: 850/900/1700/1900/2100 4G: b3/b7/b20/b38 LTE cat.11 |
| Platform | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 |
| CPU | Quad-core |
| Video accelerator | Adreno 530 |
| Inner memory | 64/128 GB |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Memory card slot | Yes, combined with SIM slot |
| WiFi | Yes, a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band |
| Bluetooth | Yes, 4.2 LE, A2DP |
| NFC | Eat |
| Screen diagonal | Main: 5.7 inches Optional: 2.05 inches |
| Screen resolution | Main: 1440 x 2560 pixels Additional: 1440 x 160 pixels |
| Matrix type | Super LCD5 |
| Protective covering | Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Oleophobic coating | Eat |
| Main camera | 12 MP, f/1.8, optical stabilization, phase detection and laser autofocus, dual flash, 4k video |
| Front-camera | 16 MP, UltraPixel |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor, gyroscope |
| Battery | Non-removable, 3000 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Dimensions | 162.4 x 79.8 x 8 mm |
| Weight | 170 grams |
| Price | 48,000 / 55,000 rubles |
Equipment
- Smartphone
- Charger
- PC cable (also part of the charger)
- Wired headset
- Plastic transparent case
- SIM tray eject key
- Microfiber cloth
I remember HTC had a couple of smartphones that supported Qualcomm QuickCharge, but did not have a corresponding power supply included. Luckily, the U Ultra doesn't have any problems with this, and the included charger supports QC 3.0. In addition to it, the kit includes a special headset that connects via Type C. Since the smartphone has a glass case, HTC even decided to put a microfiber cloth in the box. Well, the simple case is also a small but nice addition, considering that manufacturers usually don’t spoil us with extra gifts in the box.
Appearance, materials, control elements, assembly
The smartphone will be sold in three colors: white, black and blue. I tested exactly the blue version. She is the one who looks as beautiful and impressive as possible. It’s nice to just admire the smartphone; it doesn’t look like a faceless brick (at least from the back). A special complex technology is used to color glass, thanks to which, depending on the reflection, the glass takes on different colors. As a bonus, the back can be used as a mirror. In the younger version, the cover is made of Gorilla Glass 5, and in the older version, it is made of sapphire glass. In both cases, the glass has an oleophobic coating, thanks to which the device does not slip and is easier to clean from fingerprints. And they remain, although not so noticeable. In different lighting the lid takes on different tones of blue, which looks great.
Below the screen there is a fingerprint scanner with an integrated touch-sensitive home button, as well as back and recent applications keys. The scanner has maximum speed and responsiveness; the device unlocks in an instant. The designers made the location of the button with the scanner shifted to the bottom; why this is needed is unclear.
Above the display you can see a light indicator, a 16 MP camera peephole, a speaker mesh, light and proximity sensors, as well as an additional 2.05-inch screen, we’ll talk about it a little later.
The frame of the smartphone is made of aluminum, on the right side there is a power button and a volume rocker, on top there is a tray for two SIM cards and a microSD card, as well as an additional microphone.
At the bottom there is a Type C port, an external speaker and a microphone.
At the back, in addition to the main camera, flash and laser focusing, there was also room for a third microphone. They are needed for HTC Sense Companion to work better.
Over the course of a month of use, I did not have any complaints about the assembly of the smartphone. It is perfectly assembled, there are no backlashes or squeaks.
Dimensions
Let me remind you that the U Ultra diagonal is 5.7 inches. For such a large screen size, the smartphone fits surprisingly well in the hand. Sloping edges and uniform weight distribution played an important role in this. But in terms of height, the U Ultra has certain problems. The smartphone is longer than its competitors, due to the fingerprint scanner at the bottom and the second display at the top. This is visible in the numbers, but in everyday use the difference is minimal.
Screen
What I love about HTC flagships (and near-flagship devices) is their displays. Few manufacturers put such good IPS matrices in their smartphones. The display in U Ultra pleases with a huge maximum brightness, a large range of its adjustment and natural color rendition. The QHD resolution on such a diagonal is completely justified: the fonts seem to be drawn with a thin marker, the picture is sharp and glossy, like a printed photograph.
The smartphone has a separate night mode, you can choose the time it turns on and the intensity of the treatment in warm colors. There are also scaling settings, they change not only the font size, but also the DPI, which will appeal to those who like to use the space of a large display more economically.
The smartphone can be turned on by double-clicking and operated with gloves (most importantly, do not forget to activate the appropriate option).
Additional screen
The highlight of the smartphone is a small, separate two-inch display designed to reduce the overload of the interface with notifications. Its functionality can be divided into three parts: working when the main display is on, when it is off, and displaying notifications.
When the main screen is turned on, the secondary screen can:
- Show events from calendar
- Give you quick access to contacts
- Show weather forecast
- Manage your audio player (third-party players are also supported)
- Open one of your favorite apps
- Set a text reminder for yourself
When the screen is turned off, the clock, battery charge, weather and recent notifications are shown by default.
If you wish, you can also include information from your calendar or reminder here. The last option when the screen is off: quick access to wireless interface switches. The camera or flashlight is launched from the same menu.
Also, a small screen can replace the status bar, displaying application notifications. In the settings, you can select the programs with which the additional display will work.
Personally, I found this screen not very convenient, if we talk about the mode when it is always on. Weather, contacts or application shortcuts - all this distracts the eye from the main display. I ended up turning it off and setting it to only show notifications.
operating system
The smartphone runs Android 7.0 and the proprietary HTC Sense shell.
A few years ago, Sense was my favorite skin. At that time, stock Android looked terrible, and HTC was able to skillfully hide all the terrible “tails” of earlier versions of the OS and provide the user with a convenient and functional shell.
Now Android 7.0 is quite ready for everyday use and without any shells, HTC understands this, so the latest versions of Sense look concise and partially switch to Google services instead of their own applications. For example, the company abandoned its browser in favor of Chrome. Why is HTC Sense so good?
Please note that the icon grid has finally returned to its normal size!
Dialer. The built-in application can search for contacts using SmartDial, has easy navigation and looks great.
Keyboard. A few years ago, the keyboard in Sense was one of the best, it was even specially ported to other devices. And Artem Lutfullin swore in every review that the Russian layout does not have additional characters. Now Sense uses an adapted version of TouchPal, it looks the same as older versions of Sense, and Russian letters finally have additional symbols.
Weather. This is perhaps the most beautiful weather application I have ever used. At the same time, in terms of detail, it is not inferior to strong competitors from third-party developers.
A review of HTC Sense is worthy of a separate article, so in this section I highlighted only a few advantages of the shell that immediately came to mind.
HTC Sense Companion
After Google Now, manufacturers began to massively show their smart assistants, HTC was no exception. Sense Companion is based on the Alexa voice assistant, and it takes some of the data from Google Now. The essence of a companion is quite simple - to make your life easier. At the presentation, I was told about some pretty interesting advice that this assistant would be able to give. For example, he heard that you have a meeting at 14-00, added it to the calendar and immediately suggested the route for the shortest trip. This sounds great, but the app requires constant access to your microphones to provide these tips. By the way, this is why there are four of them in HTC U Ultra!
Roman Belykh has already shared his opinion on such collective statistics, and I will also express my opinion. In my opinion, everyone has already had all the important information they need for a long time, so there is no need to worry about the security of your data and privacy. Moreover, the companion collects data anonymously, no one sits in the office and listens to your conversations.
Sense Companion takes time to prepare advice for you, but exactly how long is unclear. I used the smartphone for almost a month, and during this time the companion only clarified whether I would be interested in this or that advice, but never offered them.
Performance
Despite the fact that the SnapDragon 835 is now considered the flagship chipset, I cannot say that the 821 is very outdated and cannot cope with any tasks. It is still a powerful and productive solution suitable for most resource-intensive tasks.
Among the disadvantages, I note the strong heating of the device, and it does not matter whether you are playing a powerful toy or just reading Twitter. Suddenly, the smartphone body heats up and becomes uncomfortable to hold in your hand. However, after two or three minutes after turning off the screen, everything returns to normal. Below you can see the temperature change when starting Antutu three times in a row.
Autonomous operation
In everyday use (syncing, Twitter, mail, web surfing and music), I consistently got three to four hours of screen time. There were often situations when, towards the end of the day, I was forced to connect my smartphone to an external battery.
On the other hand, support for QC 3.0 eliminates this problem, because in half an hour the smartphone is charged by 53%, in an hour by 80%, and a full charge takes 1 hour 40 minutes.
Camera
Traditionally, to evaluate the camera, I asked Roman Belykh to write his short comment:
To my surprise, the camera in HTC U Ultra completely satisfied me. Photos during the day turn out juicy, with correct colors, good dynamic range without HDR, good sharpness, without artifacts and “watercolors”. Focus is accurate and fast.
When lighting deteriorates, the camera does not “lose its face”: detail decreases slightly, but in general, the picture does not become pixelated or blurry. Apparently the combination of an optical stabilizer and good high-aperture optics make their presence felt from the best side. The balance is still right.
At night the pictures come out decent, at least in auto mode it’s hardly possible to take better pictures without overexposure, without strong noise and without artifacts. Another question is that night shots are more difficult to take due to the “long” shutter speed, so some came out a little “shaky” (you just need to get used to it).
The video shoots even better: high detail, no “floating” focus, beautiful, accurate colors. Digital zoom works well. Stereo sound is pleasant. There seemed to be no overloads noticed.
The level of the main camera of HTC U Ultra is high, the camera is definitely worth giving 5 out of 5.
The front camera, apparently, is not bad, but the focus flatly refused to focus on the face, that is, the focus “flew” to the background, which, in my opinion, is wrong.
I’ll add on my own that the front camera can shoot in “ultrapixel” mode: the resolution is lowered, but the brightness of the image is increased, this is useful in low light, but in my opinion, it’s not always necessary to sacrifice detail for this.
Sample photos
Wireless interfaces
In terms of wireless interfaces, U Ultra is pleasantly pleased: here you have NFC, support for two SIM cards, and fast GPS operation. Over the course of a month of using them, I did not find any problems with them.
Sound
HTC U Ultra has abandoned the minijack, so you will have to listen to music through the Type C port. Fortunately, the kit comes with excellent plugs with a remote control. When connecting to a smartphone, you are prompted to perform the initial setup of the headphones. As far as I understand, they adapt (software) to the shape of the auricle for better sound.
To my amateur taste, U Ultra sounds decent in these headphones. They perfectly convey bass, but do not drown out vocals, and cope well with both classical music (including piano) and rock music.
Two stereo speakers are responsible for external sound, one of them is built into the speaker above the screen, the second is located next to the Type C port. When preparing the review, I almost wrote that we had already seen a similar solution in the iPhone 7, but in time I remembered that HTC used it was also found in HTC 10. Personally, I liked the full-fledged stereo speakers in the One M8/M9 more, but the company decided to abandon them in order to save space on the case. But this same place is occupied by a second display and a scanner under the screen.
External speakers sound worse than in the same M8/M9, classical music rattles at high notes, the sound of rock bands seems flat and even vocals lack clarity of sound. No, don’t get me wrong, the U Ultra sounds better than about 80% of smartphones, it’s just that HTC initially set the bar quite high with their past flagships, so you evaluate them based on their past merits.
Conclusion
Over the course of a month of use, I had no complaints about the quality of voice transmission. You and your interlocutor can hear each other perfectly.
At retail, the younger version of U Ultra costs 48,000 rubles, while the older version with 128 GB with sapphire glass will cost you 54,000 rubles.
HTC is positioning this smartphone as a kind of lifestyle solution for those users who do not want to buy another Galaxy or iPhone, do not pay close attention to the characteristics, but simply want a beautiful and convenient smartphone. And you know, my impressions of use confirm this positioning: U Ultra is very pleasant to use: it has an excellent appearance, a cool display, a good camera, a convenient shell and there are a number of small convenient features, take the same additional display or Sense Companion.
But there are also certain disadvantages: average battery life, lack of a minijack, periodic strong heating and high price.
Despite the shortcomings described, on the whole I enjoyed using the U Ultra; HTC has long been able to create “cozy” smartphones based on user experience rather than top-end specifications (although the same display here is simply magical). But for 48 thousand you regularly think that “maybe it would be better to pay extra and get the Galaxy S8?” If the price of Ultra was at the level of 42-44 thousand rubles, such questions would not bother users.
HTC is alive. This is perhaps the most important thing that can be taken away from their U Ultra phablet. Secondly, it’s a pleasure to use! But the point is not in outstanding characteristics, but in the overall impression that the smartphone leaves. At least because he is not like everyone else.
He looks very unusual
HTC made a sparkling back cover that really makes the smartphone stand out. I had it made of rich blue glass, but there is also black and mother-of-pearl. And if black is just black, then mother-of-pearl shimmers with colors naturally, like pearls or the shells of all kinds of sea creatures. And therefore the design turned out to be contradictory - either you like it or you don’t.
Moreover, we are talking about a spread from one extreme to another. Personally, for example, I like him very much. And I'm not alone. But there are also many who categorically do not like the smartphone, precisely because of the glare back cover. Including in our editorial office.
But the build quality is depressing. This glass itself is attached to the aluminum frame not very well, and as a result it sticks out on one side and “falls in” on the other. Moreover, it sticks out so much that you can easily stick a fingernail in there and pry off the back panel. But we definitely don’t recommend doing this, because it will all crack. Glass is what it is, you know.
Such. Markoe. If you want your smartphone to look beautiful, then use it with gloves. Or wipe it once every 40 seconds. The oleophobic coating on the rear panel is sorely missing.
By the way, please note that there is no headphone jack here. There is also no adapter for a 3.5 mm jack included in the kit, like competitors have. Thank you, at least the included headphones are Type-C. However, their sound is frankly weak, and this is a rare case when it is better to listen via Bluetooth. Because other wired headphones cannot be connected.
Do you know what's ironic? Companies justify the refusal of the audio jack: a) moisture protection, which the U Ultra does not have; b) – by reducing the thickness, although U Ultra is not the thinnest device.
As a result, the motivation for refusing jack is completely incomprehensible. Moreover, HTC is so actively promoting its BoomSound technology, which allows you to produce good sound through headphones. Actually, in last year's HTC 10 this was one of the main features.
There are two displays here, and it turns out to be convenient
There is a tiny additional screen located directly above the main screen. With the first, everything is clear - the colors are bright, saturated, the picture is pleasant, and there is no point in talking about it for a long time. Moreover, the color rendition can be customized for yourself, just like other manufacturers. I just wish it were literally three or four millimeters lower - HTC has traditionally left too much unrealized space under the screen. Yes, and from the sides a couple of millimeters around the screen could be removed; the frames are perhaps too big.
But still, the second display, which acts as an extension of the notification panel, is of greatest interest. Actually, this is where all incoming messages are displayed, and here you can pin the weather forecast, calendar event reminders, player control buttons and shortcut buttons for your favorite contacts.
The weather forecast turns into...
Elegant audio player
First of all, it is convenient because notifications do not take up space on the main display, and at the same time they are large and very easy to read information from. And although you have to reach for it, in other smartphones after the U Ultra this secondary display is sorely lacking. It might seem like a small thing, but how it changes the perception of the device! Thanks to LG for inventing such a thing.
Another bonus that the second display provides is that while watching a video you can always see the time and list of notifications. Without touching the screen or being distracted from the video.
However, it lacks some functions. For example, when taking a selfie, you could display a countdown timer with an arrow on the camera in the “Look here” style - fortunately, the camera is actually located next to the display.
The cameras are quite good
There is only one problem with the front one - if you don’t fix the device at the time of shooting, then everything will be blurry. And I’m not talking about drunken dancing in a bar - for a photo to blur, a slight vibration is enough, exactly the same as what happens when you press the volume key or the capture button on the screen. Therefore, without a timer, you won’t be able to shoot on the front camera at all.
If we talk about the rear, then everything is fine with it. Of course, it is inferior to the recognized leaders Samsung, Pixel and Huawei, but one cannot say that much. In any case, on Instagram, photos from HTC are in no way inferior, and even on a large monitor, the difference can only be seen if you look closely. The sharpness of photos suffers most at dusk and when shooting night landscapes. The brightly lit monument to Yuri Nikulin, for example, turned out well. But the night view of the Moscow River was a little blurry, and it’s not a matter of focus, but the fact that the smartphone was unable to correctly capture light objects in a dark frame. The same thing is with the twilight over the Kievsky railway station. However, daytime photographs are more than worthy.
The sky lost all texture, but objects on the ground were very clear.
The heavy leaden sky looks as it should, and you can see ducks in the ducks on the water. However, the pipes of the thermal power plant are beating into pixels
The locomotive is as bright as in life. The rubble didn't turn into mush.
The detailing of the portrait of John Lennon is excellent - you can see both individual bricks and places where the plaster has been chipped off.
The streetlights have turned into white spots, the signs are fuzzy, the sky is flat. But after processing, it looks great on Instagram.
The sky has retained its texture, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior has not been blurred, and in the distance you can even see the Main Building of Moscow State University. And it didn't turn into a stain.
The Government House turned into a white spot, the Ukraine Hotel - into yellow, Borodinsky Bridge - into color.
The shooting conditions are not the easiest, yes. The picture on the wall was blurred, but the pattern on the nearby ottoman remained clear.
Excellent contrast, color rendition is also correct. And you can even see the black text on the white sign.
We left test photos in original resolution
The hardware here is also inferior to this year's flagships
HTC U Ultra has last year's flagship Snapdragon 821 processor. In tests, it loses to the most powerful Snapdragon 835 chip at the moment (Samsung Galaxy S8, Sony Xpreia XZs and XZ Premium), but in practice you will not notice any difference - the interface does not slow down, the most Demanding games run smoothly. And it will be like this for at least another year after the purchase.
Performance of HTC U Ultra and other flagships in tests (the higher the scores, the better):
There is 4 gigabytes of RAM, and I don’t know how, but the smartphone is too fast. This is the case when you are surprised at how quickly applications load and switch. The operation of the system is pure delight. Bravo, HTC, for such good software optimization!
And the fingerprint scanner works great here. It just so happens that the thumb of the author of these lines is not friendly with all scanners - for example, Sony stubbornly refuses to recognize me. Although others don't have this problem. The same thing happened with HTC 10, which recognized the owner's finger every tenth time. Here there is complete order, like Huawei (and this is a compliment in the matter of fingerprint scanners). U Ultra unlocks faster than you can think about what you need from a smartphone.
The only thing is that I advise you to turn off the BlinkFeed screen. Under ideal conditions, it shows you relevant information from your news feeds and social networks. However, in reality it turns into a hellish mess, which is very difficult to keep track of, and therefore to obtain the information of interest.
The battery is not happy
Its capacity is only 3000 mAh. If we give a car analogy, it’s as ridiculous as putting a tiny tank from a Mini Cooper on a huge Land Cruiser. At least because there is a gluttonous 5.7-inch Super LCD with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. And another two-inch one with a resolution of 160x1040.
HTC U Ultra operating time compared to other flagships (in minutes):
As a result, the smartphone discharges very quickly - you will have to charge it at least once a day. Actually, if we talk about games, the simple Subway Surfers drained the smartphone in just 4 hours and 30 minutes. Something more serious, like Real Racing 3 or World of Tanks: Blitz, will turn off your smartphone even faster.
Summary
The biggest disappointment is the price. Because HTC U Ultra costs 48 thousand rubles in the official online store. And she kills this phablet. Because for about the same money you can buy, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Also last year's hardware, also stunning in appearance, but at the same time a much better camera, good battery life, moisture protection and (a sudden plus) a huge number of accessories.
Or you can take the Huawei P10 Plus, which turned out to be extremely successful and definitely falls into the “must take” category - it has an amazing camera, a more durable battery and much less fragility due to the all-metal body. And it's even cheaper.
Or you can add a little more and take the new Galaxy S8. He is generally uncompromising, and will delight his owner every day.
In general, the HTC U Ultra is a controversial smartphone, and the second screen, as a convenient wow feature, does not compensate for the price. If it were 10 thousand cheaper, it would be a good offer. 5 thousand cheaper - well, not the worst. And now... Perhaps it’s still better for HTC to engage in VR. I hope that in U11 they at least somehow turned this situation around.
Advantages:
- bright appearance;
- second display;
- good camera;
- excellent interface optimization;
- instant fingerprint scanner.
Flaws:
- no audio jack;
- no moisture protection;
- fragile and easily soiled body;
- weak battery;
- too expensive.
HTC U Ultra was presented back in winter at CES, and a lot has changed since then. Top devices were shown by LG, Sony and Huawei, and then Samsung took the cake with the Galaxy S8.
HTC's life is already complicated and difficult, but here competitors are pressing from all sides. Perhaps HTC knew what its market colleagues were up to, or maybe not. In any case, I got the impression that HTC decided to make the flagship its own way. So to speak, look at the situation with a fresh look and grind down stereotypes. But whether it succeeded or not, now we’ll figure it out.
Glossy giant
The phone is sold in different colors, if you decide to buy the “Ultra”, then look for the option in blue, judging by the photographs, this is a magical color, the glossy body plays with colors under the lighting, it looks amazing.
I happened to have a version in a more classic black design, it also sparkles and shines. The body is made of glass on the front and back, and there is a metal edging on the sides. The designers named their creation Liquid Surface. And indeed, the phone looks as if a drop of an unusual substance froze on the surface and took the shape of a phone, very beautiful. All these shimmers look foreign and mesmerizing, just space!
The feel of HTC is comparable to Xiaomi Mi Mix, but if HTC has glass, then Xiaomi has ceramics. I don’t know how to check, because when you hold the phones in your hands, the sensations are the same. HTC included a case with the U Ultra to prevent the phone from slipping out of the palm, as the body is slippery. Therefore, such sparkling beauty will have to be hidden in a case, or used very carefully. I myself am not a fan of cases, I don’t like protective products, but in the case of HTC you can’t do without it.
There is no need to talk about the fact that glass collects fingerprints at an alarming rate, and that’s understandable. But unlike the glossy iPhone 7 Jet Black, the surface here is not scratched. Cool coating, I spent a week with the phone, not the slightest scratch or scuff, the phone looks like new. But Jet Black gets scratched very quickly, it can’t boast of such durability, HTC is more durable, kudos! 
I didn't like that the area around the protruding camera constantly collects dust, which settles on the glossy surface and immediately catches the eye. The large margins above and below the screen do not add joy either; the free space was not used very effectively, especially if you think about the “frameless” flagships from Samsung or LG.
In addition, the “back” key is located in the lower left corner, and not in the right, making it inconvenient to reach there. The fingerprint scanner works well, it is located in a small area under the screen, it is a pity that it was moved down so much. It works quickly, as expected, and works flawlessly.
Two screens
Above the main display there is a small additional screen: 2 inches diagonal, resolution 160x1040 pixels. According to the manufacturer, it simplifies the user’s life and takes on extra load.
For example, you pick up the phone from the table, the backlight of the second screen turns on, the main one does not turn on, and you see all the notifications. Someone “likes” your post on Instagram, a message is sent there too.
What else can the second screen do? You set up quick access to 6 applications on your phone and see the weather forecast for the day. You can quickly call one of 6 contacts, create a reminder, or see your next scheduled event. Navigation is simple, move your finger left and right and switch between menus.
While I was walking around with the phone, a new firmware version came out. Initially, the small display could not work with third-party applications, I wrote this down as a disadvantage. But then, after the update, it turned out that the phone’s capabilities were expanded, and now information from other programs gets there. For example, I listen to music through Spotify, control buttons and the name of the track are displayed there. But switching songs is inconvenient; you won’t reach for the very top every time. In my opinion, the additional screen is a fun toy, but not the thing for which people will buy this phone.
The screen is covered with Gorilla Glass 5, diagonal 5.7 inches, resolution 1440x2560 pixels. The picture is great, but the frames spoil everything. Part of the space is taken up by an additional display, and the wide indents on the sides immediately hint that this is not the Galaxy S8.
The colors here are bright and saturated, the displays of top HTCs have always had colorful shades, and this phone was no exception. The picture is very juicy, it can be confused with Super AMOLED out of ignorance. True, the IPS panel is not as economical as AMOLED, but I’ll write about the operating time below.
Powerful but hot
The phone's body heats up even during routine tasks like scrolling through pages in a browser. If you play, it quickly gets hot, and it has a well-proven Snapdragon 821 processor. In general, it does not generate increased heat, judging by other tested devices with the same characteristics.
The measurement results are in our table, here are the standard numbers for a device with last year’s top-end hardware. Of course, I would like to see a new and more powerful Snapdragon 835 in the new phone, but so far this is not possible; almost all the best from Qualcomm has been reserved by Samsung, as one of its key partners.
HTC is not alone here; the LG G6, for example, also received an “old” processor. I added quotation marks to the word because I don’t dare call it slow or low-powered. Another thing is that if you are a geek and are chasing the very best hardware, then you can be upset.
The phone has 4/64 GB of memory, two slots for SIM cards, the second SIM can be replaced with microSD if necessary.
The smartphone runs Android 7, the shell received artificial intelligence Sense Companion. The smart assistant analyzes how you use your phone and then gives you tips. But for now it does not work, it will appear in one of the future updates, as stated on the official website.
For some unknown reason, HTC U Ultra received only a 3000 mAh battery. In addition, it also quite actively used up its energy reserves in the background at first, 2 charges per day became the norm. Then, after the new firmware, the “burning” stopped, I got about 3-3.5 hours of active screen, which is comparable to OnePlus 3/3T or Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. I haven't used the new Galaxy S8 yet, so I can't compare. Yes, not very much, so if you want a phone with a large screen that you can hardly drain in a day, look at the Huawei Mate 9 ().
The phone charges quickly, it takes 1.5 hours, as befits a device that supports QuickCharge 3.0. There is no wireless charging here, alas.
Where to connect the headphones?
HTC U Ultra comes with headphones with a USB Type-C connector. Why did they abandon the regular 3.5mm port? Yes, for the same reason as Apple or LeEco. The position is this: people, switch to better sound, a mini-jack is not able to transmit it. By the way, there is no adapter for mini-jack in the box.
But USonic technology works; the device optimizes and adjusts the sound depending on the structure of the ear canal, but you only need to listen to music through the included headphones. If you connect others, then goodbye high technology.
However, given that there is no usual connector, owners don’t have many options. Either look for an adapter, or buy other exotic headphones with USB Type-C, or connect a Bluetooth headset. I love wireless sound, so I listened to music on a wireless headset. Although the complete set turned out to be good: comfortable “plugs” with good sound insulation.
In my opinion, USonic doesn’t make the sound better, it just changes the settings, you get the sound like in Beats headphones, but focusing on low frequencies is not for everyone. If you listen to music in “normal” mode, you will enjoy it more.
Remember when HTC used to be famous for its stereo speakers? The sound was very loud and clear, and most importantly, there was even a hint of volume, which is a great achievement for phones. BoomSound works here too, the smartphone screams sonorously and loudly, there are not enough low frequencies, but from a device of this size it is foolish to want the capabilities of a speaker like the JBL Charge.
Camera
The camera with “ultra-pixels” migrated here from the HTC 10: laser and phase focusing, optical stabilization, 12 megapixels and f/1.8 aperture. Front camera 16 megapixels.
In my opinion, HTC U Ultra's photo quality is not up to par with the reference Google Pixel or Galaxy S8. The colors are pale, there is a lot of noise, the sharpness drops around the edges. Alternatively, you can switch to Pro mode with manual settings and shoot in RAW, and then process the photos. But this is during the day, and at night everything becomes completely sad; you can’t tell from the examples that the top model in the line shoots like this.
Opinion
The price of HTC U Ultra in America is $749. In Russia, the phone costs 47,990 rubles. This is less than what they ask for for the LG G6 or Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+.
It is possible that after reading this text you will think “ugh, what kind of crap is this, not a top-end smartphone.” But there is such a moment. Now all phones are very similar to each other: both in design and in characteristics. HTC tried to gather all the modern trends into a pile and create something new out of it. It will be interesting to see how the intelligent assistant will perform later, will they “finish” the camera?
In the meantime, HTC U Ultra has turned out to be too controversial. On the one hand, it is clear that the manufacturer wanted to stand out from the general background, invested in the design, tried to expand the usual capabilities and added a second screen. But when you walk around with the phone, having tried to get used to the image of the owner, you realize that there is another side to the coin. I would prefer a phone with a longer battery life and a more advanced camera. After all, you can always take the frameless Xiaomi Mi Mix and be amazed at Chinese engineering.
Liked
- spectacular design
- great screen
- loud speakers
- performance
- the extra screen is a funny thing
Did not like
- middle chamber
- big sizes
- get used to the lack of a 3.5 mm jack
I would like to thank the friendliest gadget store for providing me with a smartphone for testing.Biggeek . Using the Wylsacom promotional code, there is a special discount for customers.
