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Despite the not so rosy situation of the Taiwanese company, HTC launched the U11+ (Check on Amazon.com) at the beginning of 2018.
Package
Inside the package we find a USB/USB-C cable, a 12V/1.25A QuickCharge 3.0 power adapter, a pair of great U-Sonic headphones and a USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack adapter.
Build and Ergonomics
The HTC U11+ is made of mate metal for the profile (now slightly squared and less rounded) and glass for the front and back. It’s the rear that hides the newest features: this is where we find the new fingerprint reader. The Translucent version is also equipped with a slightly transparent back that gives a glimpse of the NFC module.
In addition, this device is dust and water resistant IP68 certified. However, it is also quite slippery, so you will need to be careful or put a case on it.
Hardware
The U11+ is a true top of the range. It is equipped with a 2.45GHz octa core Snapdragon 835 with an Adreno 540 GPU and 4/6GB of RAM. The secondary SIM slot can also house a microSD card to expand the internal memory that amounts to 64/128GB. Connectivity is also good with LTE up to 800Mbps, dual band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and USB-C 3.1 output.
The headphone capsule doubles as a second speaker for multimedia audio: the result is good and the audio is clear, albeit the volume is low. The fingerprint reader positioned on the back is very precise and quick to unlock the phone. We also count 4 directional microphones for 3D audio recording.
Camera
The 12-megapixel ƒ/1.7 camera with optical image stabilization is the same one we find on the U11 (Check on Amazon.com). It takes great pictures like the one on the U11. HTC choose not to install a secondary camera, thus giving up features such as zoom, wide-angle or portrait mode. It is, therefore, a camera module that focuses heavily on pure quality rather than functionality, and where the only novelties worthy of mention are the slow-motion videos and Hyperlapse.
The photos are full of details, with an automatic HDR that works very well and comes often into play. Low light photography is more than decent. Videos can be recorded in 4K with high-quality audio.
Display
The HTC U11 Plus sports a 6-inch Super LCD 6 panel with an 18:9 format ratio and QHD+ resolution (2880×1440 pixels). It is not the best display out there and not even the brightest, but it is still very pleasant and has not disappointed us so far. You can enable the Always On Display when the phone is lifted or always, as the name suggests, but remember that it is not an AMOLED display and this can seriously affect the autonomy.
Software
The HTC U11+ runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. This is almost stock Android, with some HTC Sense implementations. Among the new features, we liked the new bottom bar that you can slide sideways to let you access some functions such as screen recording or screenshots. You can also associate specific functions when you squeeze the smartphone. The system is very fast, fluid and responsive and we really enjoyed the semi-stock implementation of HTC.
Autonomy
The battery unit went from a 3000 to a 3930mAh cell and the autonomy has benefited immensely. Now it is practically impossible to run out of juice in a single day. Add to this the compatibility with Quick Charge 3 fast charging, and you have a phone that won’t die on you the moment you need it the most.
Price
The HTC U11 Plus goes for (Check on Amazon.com).
Final Verdict
The HTC U11+ is a top-notch smartphone in virtually every aspect: camera, software, autonomy, hardware, and even the display. It is not perfect and the company has cut some corners. But when you look at that semi-transparent back, you know you want one.
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