Taiwanese tech company HTC Corp (NASDAQ:HTCXF)finally announced its flagship U Ultra smartphone, just a few days after 2017’s CES conference.
US customers won't have to wait any more for the Asian premium phone. The HTC U Ultra is now shipping with per-orders to the United States and it will arrive at the country on March 10, according to the pre-order page on the phone.
The U Ultra is only available as an unlocked smartphone and it has a price tag of $749. It is the company’s latest Android flagship, and it will compete against the LG V20, the LG G6, and the upcoming Samsung S8 lineup.
HTC U Ultra specs: display, processor, and memory
The Ultra U is a dual display phablet. It has a 5.7-inch screen with 1,440 x 2,560 resolution and 513 PPI pixel density. It is a Super LCD5 capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors and a next generation liquid interface.
The secondary display is a 2.05-inches screen with 160 x 1,040 resolution. The feature comes along an adaptive sound system. The U Ultra’s second screen stays at the top of the phone and it shows app shortcuts, event notifications, top contacts, and more.
The U Ultra runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and runs on a Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor with an Adreno 530 GPU for better visuals.
IT carries either 64 or 128 GB storage and 4GB RAM. The 64GB version comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5, while the 128 GB model ships with Sapphire crystal glass.
HTC U Ultra camera
The primary camera has 12MP. It hasaf/1.8 aperture with 26mm lens, OIS, laser and phase detection autofocus, and dual tone flash. The unit features a ½.3-inches sensor size, geo-tagging, face detection, touch focus, Auto-HDR, and panorama.
The camcorder can record 20160 pixels at 30fps (192 kHz audio), or 720 pixels at 120 fps.
Lastly, the front camera has 16 MP, it has Auto-HDR and can record 1080p videos at 30 fps.
Additional features
The phone comes with the traditional 3.5mm audio jack and a single Type-C 1.0 USB connector. It has a front-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and compass.
The U Ultra is powered by a non-removable Li-Ion 3,000 mAh battery than can run up to 26 hours on 3G or 312 hours on standby, and the phone doessupport fast charging.
The phone comes in three colors: Brilliant Black, Cosmetic Pink, Sapphire Blue, and Cosmetic Pink.
Pros and cons of the HTC U Ultra
The HTC U Ultra offers high-end specs for the same price tier as the upcoming LG G6, but lower than the expected prices of the Samsung Galaxy S8 series, which may have an entry level price around $800.
It offers a high-performance processor with a GPU for better visuals, plus a minimum of 64 GB storage.
The camera also has a unique feature, the UltraPixel shooting mode that boosts the front camera’s performance in low-light.
On the downside, the flagship phone is not compatible with any mobile VR Gear like Google’s Daydream, something users could find in other phones with similar prices.