HTC launches U flagship with AI, two screens, but missing headphone jack
HTC has today launched two new smartphones, under its flagship series called ‘U’. The two smartphones launched under the ‘U’ have been named HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, targeting both high-end and mid-range markets respectively.
The HTC U Play is a smaller variant of the HTC U Ultra, offering same design and looks. The HTC U Play differs by HTC U Ultra prominently in screen size and camera.
The HTC U Ultra features a 5.7-inch of display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, while the HTC U Play features a 5.2-inch Full HD display. In terms of camera, the HTC U Ultra sports a 16MP front sensor and a 12MP UltraPixel rear sensor, while the HTC U Play has a 16MP camera sensor on both front and back.
The biggest highlight of the smartphones is that they are housed with artificial intelligence called HTC Sense Companion, which will help enhance smartphone’s performance learning from customers’ usage.
HTC says the Sense Companion will help users save battery life by reminding them to charge the phone during the day when it spots a busy calendar, while also suggesting extra clothing and leaving more time to travel if bad weather is forecast.
Like Apple’s latest flagship iPhone 7, the HTC has also ditched the headphone jack. The company will not supply a dongle adapter. Users will either have to buy wireless headphones or buy an adapter to connect headphones.
Additionally, both the smartphone features a ‘swipable’ 2-inch secondary notification screen next to the front camera. HTC says it never wants to take your whole screen hostage.
HTC U Ultra
The HTC U Ultra is powered by a 2.15GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, coupled with 4GB of RAM, offering 64GB/128GB of internal storage option. The internal memory can further be expanded up to 2TB via a microSD card. The 128GB variant of the smartphone comes with sapphire crystal screen. It runs on Android 7.0 and is fuelled by a 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 technology. HTC U Ultra is 162.41 x 79.79 x 3.6-7.99mm in dimensions and weighs 170g.
HTC U Play
The HTC U Play features a 5.2-inch Full HD display Super LCD with Gorilla Glass, is powered by 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor, coupled with 3GB/4GB of RAM and is offering 32GB/64GB storage option, which is expandable up to 2TB using a microSD card. The smartphone also runs on the latest Android version, Android 7.0 Nougat, and is fuelled by a 2500mAh battery. It is 145.99 x 72.9 x 3.5-7.99mm in dimensions and weighs 145g.
Both phones have fingerprint scanners and feature an ultra-thin 'liquid surface' coloured glass design, with a shiny finish, available in four colour variants—Icy White, Sapphire Blue, Cosmetic Pink and Brilliant Black.
The HTC U Ultra with 64GB of storage goes on pre-sale today for $749 (approx. Rs 50,000)
