HTC U11 hands-on: First look

Introduction

Just when we thought HTC was through with this generation's flagship announcement in the form of the U Ultra, the Taiwanese manufacturer decided it would squeeze one more release in. But before we get to explain the terrible pun we just made, let us introduce the HTC U11 - the company's true 2017 flagship offer.

Yes, it seems HTC is far from done with its new "liquid design" concept. In fact, it is now clear that the U Play and U Ultra were merely international ambassadors to the company's new style. According to HTC, we have at least three of four evolutions of it to look forward to, all presumably under the "U" moniker.

HTC U11 at a glance

• Body: Glass back with a "liquid surface", IP67 waterproofing.
• Screen: 5.5" Super LCD5 with 1,440 x 2,560px resolution and Gorilla Glass 5.
• Chipset: 2.45GHz Snapdragon 835 running Android 7.1 Nougat with HTC Sense and Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa (where supported).
• Camera: 12MP UltraPixel 3, UltraSpeed Autofocus, f/1.7, OIS, DualLED flash, RAW capture.
• Video: 4K video recording with 3D Audio, Hi-Res audio, Acoustic Focus ; 1080p @ 120fps slow-mo.
• Selfie: 16MP with Live Make-up; 1080p video recording
• Memory: 4GB RAM (64GB version) and 6GB RAM (128GB version), microSD slot.
• Connectivity: 1Gbps LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, Optional DualSIm model, USB-C port with USB 3.1 and DisplayPort support, no 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS, GLONASSS, Beidou support.
• Battery: 3,000mAh, QuickCharge 3.0.
• Audio: Active Noise Cancellation with supplied headphones, BoomSound stereo speakers, 3D Audio recording with 4 mics, High-res audio support.
• Sensors: Edge squeeze sensor, fingerprint sensor.

But, without getting ahead of ourselves, let us first meet the new U11 flagship offer. The one intended to pick up where the HTC 10 left off, albeit with a few important twists on style and functionality.

Update 1: Camera samples added

Update 2: Benchmark results added