As per a report in cnet.com, HTC is getting ready to capture the market again with its new U12 Plus, which launched in May 2018. We have tested this phone on different aspects like its design, screen, camera, and performance, and bring a solid review of this phone for you.
The phone has a more conventional look. Along with squeezable sides, the company has provided a transparent back panel on the phone. It comes in 3 color options, translucent blue, ceramic black, flame red. The translucent blue looks more attractive when compared to its other two variants which boast of solid colors.
The thing that disappoints the most about the design of the phone is the buttons present on the right side of the phone. Those buttons are immobile and react to intentional pressure. They are designed to prevent water and dust, but it feels very unpleasant to touch them as they vibrate badly. The only advantage of it is that the phone does not get turned on by itself while putting in pocket.
The company has provided a 6-inch super LCD screen with a 2,880 X 1,440-pixel resolution at 537 pixels per inch. With a vibrant screen ratio of 18:9, the phone looks taller, and it becomes more comfortable to handle the phone with one hand. It’s a waterproof phone with a rating of IP68. The sound quality is excellent. You require a USB-C dongle adapter if you want to use your wired headphones as the company has not provided a headphone jack. Also, you won’t find wireless charging.
HTC has provided dual camera with dual LED in the U12 Plus. It has 12MP (wide-angle) and 16 MP (telephoto) lenses, which helps in taking good pictures even in low light. On the other hand, the 8MP front facing camera takes crystal clear pictures. The broken mode makes the images look more attractive. The camera app is packed with 2X optical zoom, OIS, and manual filters. One new feature that impresses us is the ability to filter the unwanted sound from the surrounding and focus on the sound of the person that the phone focuses while shooting video.
In HTC U12 Plus, the company has provided a 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, which make it the one the fastest phone. The phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo and has 6GB RAM and a storage space of 64GB/128GB.
If we talk about its battery life, the company has provided 3,500 mAh battery in the phone. But the battery gets drained quickly as compared to other phones. It gives a battery backup of just over 12 hours on continuous video playback on flight mode, while other phones are providing backup between 15 to 17 hours on a single charge. So, you need to charge your phone daily and need to carry an extra battery backup while going for a night out.
If you are looking to buy this phone, you have to spend $799 for 64GB and $849 for 128GB in the US. The phone doesn’t impress that much with its features. The design was elegant, but the buttons looks ugly and the battery isn’t much of a deal maker either. So, we recommend you go for other options while buying a new phone.