HTC U Ultra Review

HTC U Ultra features a curved liquid surface glass at the back, which is curved not only along the sides of the device, but also at the corners.

Known for making some of the most beautifully designed smartphones, Taiwanese mobile manufacturer HTC has released its latest creation in HTC U Ultra- another perfectly crafted handset. Hold it up and you’ll appreciate the phone’s symmetrical construction that will make you fall in love with the device as it ditched the HTC 10’s metal body for glass. DESIGN: When it comes to designing smartphones, you can’t deny HTC's craftsmanship. The HTC U Ultra adopts a two display design. It features a 5.7-inch QHD display (2560 x 1440 pixels) protected by a curved Gorilla Glass 5 screen, and an independently controlled two-inch 'dual display' screen along the top. It works a lot like the one you see on the LG V20. The second screen gives you an easy access to things like -your top contacts, app shortcuts, event notifications and more. The display has great viewing angles and is perfectly visible even in direct sunlight. It's as crisp and vibrant as you'll expect from an Ultra High Definition screen. The smartphone also lets you change color temperature and has a Glove mode for increased touch sensitivity. The smartphone features a curved liquid surface glass at the back, which is curved not only along the sides of the device, but also at the corners. At first, HTC U Ultra feels like an all-glass device which comes with a finish that is extremely shiny. The polished surface allows phone to nestle perfectly in your hand. However, the glass at the back is highly reflective and is a magnet for fingerprints. You will have to take extra care of the smartphone in everyday use. Though, it’s a kind of phone you would never want to cover with a case. The power button and the volume rockers are placed on the right side of the smartphone. The SIM Tray is situated at the top. A Type-C USB port is placed alongside a speaker unit at the bottom. However, the device lacks 3.5mm headphone Jack. At the back, we get HTC branding, along with the primary camera module which protrudes a little bit along with laser autofocus sensor and dual-toned LED flash. The speaker features at the bottom along with the primary microphone. The HTC U Ultra measures at 162.4 x 79.79 x 7.99 mm and weighs in at 175 gm. it is a dual-nano SIM device, with the second slot able to accommodate a micro-SD card to bump storage up to 2TB. CAMERA: The HTC U Ultra comes with a 12-megapixel camera with phase detection auto focus and laser focus. The auto focus system of HTC U Ultra is lightning fast and guarantees sharp and clear photos. You would rarely miss a shot with this camera. In the outdoors, the U Ultra camera showed itself to be a very capable performer even in challenging light. The phone is capable of capturing great shots. Be it bright daylight or indoors at night, the HTC U Ultra performs well. The phone is capable of recording 4K video at 30fps which is mostly crisp and stable. In our review the smartphone gets the job done most of the times and is able to bring up the details and shadow and preserve the color information. Images appear sharp even after zooming in and the skin tone and colors remain accurate. There's plenty of depth in the images as well. The camera also features a Pro Camera mode that offers a variety of manual controls over settings such as ISO and shutter speed, and even the ability for shooting in RAW. The phone also boasts excellent low light performance. Selfie lovers will also love the 16-megapixel front-facing shooter. PERFORMANCE: The U Ultra is powered by a 2.15 Quad-Core GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC along with Adreno 530 GPU for graphics. It comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage which is further expandable via hybrid Dual SIM slot up to 2TB. The device runs on Android 7.0 Nougat with the latest HTC Sense UI. The fingerprint sensor, located at the front, is very responsive and unlocks the device quickly. It also acts like a Home Button. The earphones provided in the box are comfortable with solid audio quality. Watching videos or listening to music with with HTC BoomSound is indeed a great experience. HTC's Sense Companion feature is also worth noting.  In our review, the smartphone offers a commendable and lag free performance. HTC SENSE COMPANION Sense Companion is HTC’s new artificial intelligence-augmented digital assistant, designed to offer helpful suggestions and even pre-empt how you want to use your phone based on your behaviours. HTC has started to roll out its Sense Companion to the U Ultra and U Play devices. Its initial features include helpful recommendations to improve device performance, reminders to charge or bring a battery bank for a long day out, time estimates for arrival when driving in traffic, and clothing and accessory suggestions based on weather conditions. HTC says it’ll be rapidly introducing other new features as well. Users will need to update the HTC Sense Companion from the Google Play store, re-launch the app, and log in to see HTC Sense Companion’s default cards to introduce feature. BATTERY: Battery of U Ultra is on par with what you’ll get from other high-end Androids. It can last for 12-14 hours of moderate usage. Thankfully, there are built-in battery saving modes you can switch on to increase it. OFFERS: Ultra comes with a one-year insurance that covers liquid damage and any physical damage to the phones. Customer is not required to register for insurance. Standard Chartered Debit and Credit card holders  can avail 10% cash back on the MOP value of the phone. Maximum value of cash back is Rs 5,990 on U Ultra. Offer valid from 6th March - 31st May’17. VERDICT: The HTC U Ultra is one of the best looking phone available in the market. Audio, through the external speakers with BoomSound, has been great on the device. It features a sharp display and the camera performance is also great. The second display makes everyday life easier for the user. Speed and battery life are both on par with what you’ll get from other high-end Android phones. Overall, it offers everything that you expect from a premium flagship device but all of this come at a price. You'll have to shell Rs. 59,990 to own this top tier offering. If you have Standard Chartered Debit/Credit card, you can avail HTC U Ultra at Rs. 54,000.