HTC U11 with Edge Sense and Snapdragon 835 goes official

HTC has officially taken the wraps of its latest 'U' series flagship device, the HTC U11. It does not have a bezel-less screen like Samsung and LG's flagship, but the main highlight is the Edge Sense technology, which allows you to trigger certain actions like opening camera, send text by voice, email and more by squeezing the sides of the phone. It also lets you activate advanced touch and use a “short squeeze” as well as a “squeeze and hold” for even more functionality.

Like the previous 'U' series phone, the U Ultra and U Play, the new HTC U11 sports 3D glass on both front and rear. HTC says that the glass is created by layering highly-refractive precious minerals across the phone’s back cover, creating vivid new colors that transforms light. It also ditches the 3.5mm audio jack in favor of USB-C audio and comes with new HTC USonic earphones, which combines Active Noise Cancellation with the ability to tune audio according to your unique hearing. It also comes with USB-C to 3.5mm adapter with built-in DAC.

The HTC BoomSound Hi-Fi Edition speakers is also on-board promising more loudness and better Dynamic Range Audio. It also offer omni-directional microphones that works together to record audio from all directions.

The HTC U11 boasts IP67 certification for water and dust resistance. For software, the U 11 runs Android 7.1 Nougat with HTC Sense UI on top, and comes loaded with HTC Sense Companion, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.  The China variant will have Duer AI assistant powered by DuerOS. It also has a fingerprint sensor, embedded into the home button.

In terms of specifications, the HTC U11 features 5.5-inch QHD Super LCD 5 display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection and is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor clocked at 2.45GHz. It comes in two variants: 4GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage depending on the market. The storage is expandable via microSD card (up to 2TB).

HTC claims that the U11 has received the highest-ever DxOMark rating for a smartphone camera for both photo and video with a rating of 90. For photography, it gets 12MP UltraPixel 3 camera at the back with f/1.7 aperture, UltraSpeed auto-focus, OIS, dual-LED flash, HDR Boost, Hyperlapse shooting and 4K video recording capabilities. On the front there's 16MP selfie camera with HDR Boost, BSI sensor and Full HD video recording.

In terms of connectivity, the U11 gets single/dual-SIM slot (depending on market), 4G with Cat 15 LTE support, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, HTC connect, USB Type-C port and GPS. It is fueled by 3000mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0.

The HTC U11 is priced at €749 (Rs. 52,900) in Europe and $696 (Rs. 44,600) in the US, and will begin shipping in select regions next week, followed by a worldwide release in June 2017. It comes in a range of colors, including Amazon Silver, Sapphire Blue, Brilliant Black, Ice White and Solar Red. HTC said that, the India market will get 6GB RAM/128GB storage model, but the pricing is yet to be revealed.