HTC has finally taken the wraps off the U12+ smartphone and indeed it is the ultimate flagship phone! The HTC U12+ presents with a spectacular glass design which is even transparent glass on one of the color variant. As interesting as that may sound, the U12+ will sadly not turn out as popular as other high-end flagships like the Galaxy S9, OnePlus 6, Mi Mix 2s. But this is a raw beauty before our very eyes with the best of specs you’ll find on high-end flagship models.
The HTC U12+ isn’t very much different from the U11+ which was launched last year. The device comes with the same 3D liquid glass design granting the phone a sleek and unique premium look. The device comes in black, red and blue. The blue variant has a transparent body (the right word is actually translucent) which gives you a glimpse at the phone’s internals. This is similar to what we saw in a recently leaked photo of the Mi 8.
Talking about the specifications, the U12+ packs a 6-inch Super LCD 6 screen with a Quad HD+ resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 pixels. HTC revealed that there won’t be a U12 this year so, the size is all we’ll get. The device also comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio and HDR 10 support, just like the U11+. Thankfully, this is one notch-less device.
The device packs a dual camera setup on top of the rear glass panel. The two cameras are arranged horizontally at the middle surrounded by a pill-shaped enclosure. The main camera is a 12MP wide-angle sensor having HTC’s UltraPixel 4 technology. The second sensor is a 16MP telephoto lens. The dual camera brings features like 2x optical zoom and bokeh. The main camera records HDR10 video and has ultrafast whole-sensor phase detection autofocus, aided by laser autofocus. The kit is able to do 4K video at 60fps, as well as 1080p slow-mo at 240fps, too. The device also packs dual cameras at the front, both 8MP sensors. Th front cameras are capable of capturing better portrait shots and bring Face Unlock. You also get wide angle lens, screen flash, AR stickers, and HDR Boost. For what it is worth, the HTC U12+ DXOMark score is out and the device is only second to the P20 Pro.
The HTC U12+ comes with the second-generation Edge Sense 2 technology which lets you squeeze the phone to access apps and shortcuts. The technology again offers pressure-sensitive sides but this time around you just don’t squeeze the handset to control but HTC now adds double-tapping, as well as simply holding. Edge Sense 2 can tell which hand you are grabbing the phone with and adjusts accordingly. You can double-tap instead of stretching to use the virtual back key, for instance, so you don’t stretch your thumbs too much. The features are also designed to work with most apps in the Google Play store and not only in the stock applications.
As would be expected, the U12+ features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM. The device comes with a 64GB and 128GB storage options with microSD slot for expanding the storage up to 2TB. Providing the interface is Android Oreo OS but HTC assures us it’ll be upgradeable to Android P when that’s officially released. Keeping the lights on is a 3500mAh battery.
Read More: HTC U12+ Camera Samples Reveals It Has Dual 12MP Cameras
As for the pricing and availability, the HTC U12+ comes with a price tag of $799 for the 64GB variant while the 128GB version comes in at $849. The device is available to buy from HTCs website and Amazon. The Black variant is only available in the 64GB model but the translucent blue model is available in 64GB and 128GB versions.
