HTC today announced its new flagship phone, the HTC U Ultra, along with a smaller version, the U Play.
Both phones have a new design with colorful glass on the front and back, and a metal frame. The rear glass is fully curved at all four edges, a first. HTC developed a unique process called optical spectrum hybrid deposition” to give the glass multi-layered color. Available colors are: blue, white, black, and pink.
The U Ultra has a 2-inch secondary touch-screen above the main display, much like the LG V20. New “HTC Sense Companion” software uses an AI to learn about you and offer intelligent suggestions. It can learn which are your most important contacts and apps, and only surface those notifications on the second screen. It can also advise you when to charge the phone if your schedule indicates you may run out of power before bedtime. (The battery rates 3,000 mAh.) The HTC Sense Companion will be on both U-series phones, as well as other new HTC phones this year.
The U Ultra’s Super LCD 5 main display measures 5.7 inches and has Quad-HD resolution. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and 4 GB of RAM. HTC gave the U Ultra four microphones that are always listening, and it can record “3D audio”. The main camera is a 12-mgeapixel UltraPixel sensor, similar to the HTC 10 but with improved PDAF (focusing). A 16-megapuxel camera graces the front. Other features include 64 GB of internal storage, memory card slot, Android 7.0, Hi-Res audio, Cat. 11 LTE, fingerprint sensor in the home button, NFC, and Quick Charge 3.0.
It has a USB-C port with USB 3.1, but no 3.5mm audio jack. The U Ultra is now available for pre-order from htc.com for $750, in an unlocked version that will work with the LTE networks of AT&T and T-Mobile. It will ship in early March.
The U Play has the same design but smaller, with a 5.2-inch display, no second display, and a more modest main camera and processor.
Other features are similar. HTC has not announced plans for a US-compatible version of the U Play.
