Friends+Design
- Unique, beautiful "liquid surface design" - the phone has a glass and metal finish and the exoskeleton is mostly made up of glass - giving it stunning looks, that change colors depending on the viewing angle - the colour options are out of this world too - this is a phone unlike any other, and will certainly stand out - whether you appreciate it or not may be more of a personal preference
- IP67 dust and water resistance
- Due to the use of glass, the phone attracts a lot of fingerprint smudges and it's impossible to have it with its clean look all the time, unless you use a case
Display
- Very good, sharp display (though the colors are not as vibrant as some of the competing flagships with AMOLED panels)
Software
- HTC's skin on top of Android is light and intuitive, works well, the RAM management system is very efficient, and there is next to no bloatware
- One of the major USPs is the way HTC designers have used the sensors on this device - you can literally squeeze this device to make do things like click a photo or a selfie, open Google assistant, pick up a call, change the music track etc - it's a pretty useful concept extending the standard gesture support on modern smartphones
Performance
- The performance is top-notch and the HTC U11 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor that's backed by 6GB RAM - giving it more than enough firepower to rival other flagships like Galaxy S8 or the iPhone
Camera
- Top-notch high-quality camera with the Ultra Speed Auto Focus - images clicked turn out to be outstanding in all lighting conditions
- Great quality video recording too, with the option for acoustic focus, which works like having a video recording equipment with a directional mic
- The front camera is good too and capable of clicking 150-degree wide angle selfies
- Its comparable to the very best smartphone cameras like the Google Pixel, the iPhone, and the Galaxy S8 - and in some areas, like low light performance, even comes out ahead - in fact, it is rated as the top camera phone currently by DxOMark, a highly regarded camera test firm
Audio
- The BoomSound speakers sound nice and satisfying
- HTC has also bundled this smartphone with very good quality U-Sonic headphones (USB-C based) that have noise cancelling
- Lacks the standard 3.5mm audio jack - although it does bundle a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter
Battery
- The battery easily lasts the day, and has a good battery management system, along with fast-charging support
More
- On the whole, the HTC U11 ticks all the boxes of a top-end flagship - beauty, power and performance - putting it head to head with the likes of the Galaxy S8 and the Google Pixel - and it is certainly the best phone that has come out from HTC in years
