I have never been an HTC customer or fan ( Nor a Samsung fan either , although I used the S7 edge as reference throughout  this article)  , but after reading the HTC U11 reviews , the U11 earning a DXOmark of 90 , I decided to ditch my Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 128GB which I bought 5 months ago and placed a preorder for the HTC U11.

Yes , I bought my Samsung S7  128GB lately (Feb 2017) . when Samsung released the S7 edge in most markets with only 32GB of on-board memory  it was totally off my radar as 32GB is a shame for a flagship . Towards the end of the S7 edge life cycle , they decided to face lift it with a pearl black color and to boost the memory to 128 GB .

I have been playing with the HTC for the past 10 days and I do have mixed feelings about it . It is a sexy looking phone with a medicore battery and a great LCD screen which is shy of showing its brightness . On the other hand , HTC’s cooked Android is amazingly fast with a great music experience and a camera that is looking forward to compete with Sammy’s S7 Edge shooter .

 

        

 

The unit in review is the HTC U11 128 GB / 6GB Ram Blue color  bought in the UAE for 2600 AED ( $712 ) . It came in a special packaging that includes car charger and an extra phone cover .

 

1) Phone looks

Pros

The HTC U11 is a head turner , with a fantastic glass finish and sexy rounded edges . The colors available are eye catching and they change depending on the light temperature , source and reflection .

Cons

Amazing finger print magnet that can ruin the whole experience of carrying a sexy phone . This can be minimized extensively by using a full body clear coat skin .

 

 

2) Battery

Pros

Quick charge 3.0 , otherwise I would leave this pros section blank

Cons

Heavy to above medium usage will get you around 10- 12 hours before feeling the need to recharge . This is disappointing as the SD 835 is a super power saver , but I have discovered that the LCD screen is to be blamed for this unacceptable battery performance .  Colors saturation and screen attractiveness is not on par with the S7 Edge.  No wireless charging ?? Why ??

 

 

3) Android Nougat Implementation

Pros

I love the light weight Android which is baked in the HTC U11 .It is fast , simple and allows you to enjoy the user interface .

Cons

The dual SIM  implementation could have been more refined by HTC like the Samsung S7 Edge’s.

 

 

4) Phone GSM Signal

Pros

The phone signal compared to my S7 edge is more powerful . If I am streaming music via a data connection in the building basement ( B1)  , I will never get disconnected . The S7 edge will disconnect several times . The number of bars indicating signal strength is always higher in the HTC U11  vs. the S7 Edge  in reference to the above basement comparison .

Cons

Non

 

 

5) Physical buttons layout

Pros

The HTC U11 buttons are all on one side which is very practical as you can lay the phone on one side and press any button without accidentally  invoking the power off ( A la S7 Edge). I get into this problem when I am at the Gym with the S7 edge , the HTC is more “Gym Friendly” .

Cons 

Lower profile physical buttons are always good to have which is not the case with the HTC U11 (nor the S7 Edge)

 

 

6) Screen

Pros

The screen on the HTC U11 is the latest in LCD technology .

Cons 

Not as bright as the AMOLED . Brightness is being capped at a certain threshold ( I am assuming here HTC wanted to avoid battery power challenges) .  No always on display . Screen seems to sip around 40% of the battery during a normal day usage which is very high compared to AMOLED appetite for power .

 

 

7) Music experience

Pros

Fantastic out of the box headphones , great sound experience.

Cons

3.5mm dongle is power hungry and the sound experience losses its luster but remains very much acceptable.

 

 

8) Camera

Pros

Great pictures in all conditions . Proactive and snappy focus.

Cons

S7 edge wanna be .  Shutter delay is noticeable and gets  annoying as the surroundings get darker .Sometimes , colors are overblown  (Check pictures below with yellow flowers)

 

 

9) Screen ratio (Bezelness)

Pros

The current screen ratio is not on par with the market trend , but to me this is positive as it implies better user experience . ( Less accidental screen taps when working with the phone ) . Keyboard typing experience is saved vs. nearly bezel-less phones

Cons

Some wasted screen space could be better managed ( distance between screen and the soft keys , HTC this is a shame ! )

The above is a only a very summarized snapshot about my experience with the HTC U11. For a more details , comparison with numbers and more technical comparisons  you can find it on many sites like www.gsmarena.com  or simply google “HTC U11 reviews” .

 

 

10) Fingerprint reader

Pros

Quick , responsive and very well placed . My evaluation for it is that it is better than the S7 edge implementation .

Cons

None

 

 

My comments to HTC  : The HTC U11 is a phone moving in the right direction towards flagshipness . HTC needs to deliver on their commitment of getting Amazon Alexa on board and supporting the phone for future software upgrades . Future hardware should fix the screen power sipping craziness and probably adopt AMOLED. It would be good to see a special  affordable VR headset and a 360 camera a la Samsung .

 

 

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