Friends+Design
- Arguably the most sumptuous, and beautifully designed Android phone available today - made almost entirely of glass, with a mirror finish - giving it a really unique, handsome, and bold aesthetic above anything else - it's drop-dead gorgeous
- Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back
- Its back is curved on to the phone’s four corners so it looks as though the device has been built as a whole rather than by slapping several different parts together - even more significantly, the U Ultra’s glass has been ionised so that even its black edition changes colour according to the light around you - it’s an effect that's difficult to describe, but pick up the handset yourself and its subtle shimmers and reflections are sure to set your heart aflutter
- Its 170g weight barely registers in your hands, and at 8mm thin, it's a slight device, but not so much that it feels insubstantial
- Its fingerprint scanner is front-facing, sitting just under the phone’s screen, and works like a treat - it’s fast and accurate
- Pretty large and bulky size, so might not suit you if you have small hands or value pocket-ability
- The glass construction, of course, makes it ridiculously prone to smudges, scratches and if you are not careful, glass shatters - even though HTC says it’ll survive a fall of about a metre
- The sensible thing to do therefore might be to get a case that’ll cover up this vulnerability, but clearly that’s a less than ideal solution as it means you don't then get to gaze on every inch of its beautiful design
- No waterproofing like some other flagships
Display
- Brilliant display - a generous 1440 x 2560 resolution - that's roughly 513 pixels per inch - means that you're treated to visuals with plenty of punch and vibrancy
- Also has a secondary screen - a thin 2.05in strip for instant notifications-related gratification - while it’s certainly not essential, it can end up being pretty useful
- That’s not all this secondary screen can do either - when your U Ultra is unlocked it’ll show you upcoming calendar events, reminders you’ve set yourself and a 12-hour weather forecast for your location, among other things
- The U Ultra’s secondary screen isn’t always-on - it wakes up when you get a notification or flip your phone up - its 160 x 1040 resolution ensures you can always read what’s onscreen and HTC has designed the thing to work with all the apps you’d want - that means WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Gmail and many more
Software
- HTC Sense UI on top of Android is one of the better Android UIs around
Performance
- One of the most powerful phones you can buy in terms of speed/performance, with the same internals as the Google Pixel - chomps through even the most graphically demanding games without breaking a sweat
Camera
- Decent rear camera - though not quite up to the level of other flagships
- Decent front camera - delivers spot-on skin tones and it’s not half bad at night either
Audio
- Vibrant HTC BoomSound speakers
- Doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone socket - so you’re forced to use either USB-C (included) or Bluetooth headphones
- The bundled USB-C headphones are pretty decent but will be difficult to replace given the very limited choice in USB-C headphones currently
Battery
- Decent battery life - with moderate use, generally lasts for the whole day - although there are many flagship phones with a much better battery life
- Fast charging support - topping up 33% of your battery in 20 minutes
