SMARTPHONE REVIEW - Doubling Up..HTC
The 5.5-inch smartphone
screen is now considered mainstream.
And at least in the Android
world, there are many different flagships that stick to this size with unabated
enthusiasm. For their latest flagship, HTC is pulling out all the stops -even
going a size larger, adding a second screen, opting for a glass back instead of
metal and generally doing things we thought were most un-HTC like.
It's a new design direction
for the company and one that many have already lambasted. HTC was known for
their One series of phones with beautiful aluminium shells, precise chamfered
edges and a general feeling of robustness. The U Ultra, though it doesn't skimp
on features and performance, is now a glass-metal sandwich! You can get it in
three colours: black, pink and a sapphire blue. The back panel is
multi-layered, mineral-infused contoured glass surface that reflects light in
different ways and merges seamlessly with the metal frame -HTC calls it a
`liquid surface'. It looks superb when it's clean -but it picks up smudges and
dust in a nanosecond. Despite the size, it's easy to pick up and hold.
Looking around the phone,
you can see that it has a `clean' and uncluttered design. There's one USB-C
port (no 3.5mm), dual speakers, capacitive Android buttons and a screen that
takes up most of the front. The second screen sits on top, to the right of the
front camer and can be controlled independently of the main screen. In the
Settings, you can choose what it displays and when it switches onoff. You can
also double tap the second display to take a quick glance at notifications.
One of the standout features
is supposed to the smart, AI-like software features . H T C calls it Sense Companion. This is something that will learn from your routine and
habits, set alarms for you, remind you about things that matter more, listen to
what you say and generally make things easier.We didn't get a chance to try out
the HTC Sense Companion since that will only be available by mid March via an
update. This functionality is something you can add via apps but it may be nice
to have it built in and better integrated with the stock software.
Performance is top-notch,
thanks to the Snapdragon 821 processor and 4GB RAM. HTC's Sense UI remains
excellent -one of our favorite interfaces apart from the bone-stock
Android.Coming to the camera -this is where HTC has paid some special
attention.The primary camera lets in a lot of light with that f1.8 aperture. It
also has optical image stabilization, super-fast autofocus (phase detection +
laser) and the app offers a bunch of modes including pro, Zoe, panorama, hyper
lapse and slow motion. The camera builds on the quality of the HTC 10 and
suffice to say, stands its ground with some of the best camera phones on the
market like the iPhone 7, Galaxy S7, Google Pixel and OnePlus 3T. The front
camera is great too: offering an UltraPixel mode that captures even candlelit
scenes and a wide-selfie mode. Special mention goes to the ex cellent stereo
speakers, Hi-Res audio capabilities, good battery life (with QC 3.0 fast
charging) and high quality 4k video recording.
There are some special
offers on at this time. The company is bundling complimentary 1 year insurance
that covers water and physical damage.In addition, there's a cashback of `5,990
(offer is on the full `59,990 price) when purchased with Standard Chartered
credit debit cards. However, this isn't the first nor the only dual-screen
phone available right now -LG V20 has been out for some time now and is priced
at an enticing `45,000 at the time of writing. Even the HTC 10, which many
would prefer because of the iconic all-metal design and excel lent camera, is
priced at `48,000. And you can also get similar levels of performance (minus
the second screen) at half the price with the OnePlus 3T.
Ultimately, while the phone
is great, they need to drop the price to sub `50k levels to entice more buyers.
|
Hitesh
Bhagat
|
ET16MAR17
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