We just were talking about it yesterday in regards to leaks & reports and it is now official. Say hello to the HTC U family of flagship devices. In the wee hours of around 3:30AM, HTC unveiled the U Play & the U Ultra. These are a departure from what you're used to from the company. This time around they're borrowing things from others to outdo the competition.
Let's start off w/ the high-end U Ultra. The exterior retains its metal frame but swaps out the aluminum unibody for curved glass. It has a 5.7inch QHD Super LCD 5 display w/ a second 2inch display (160 x 1040 resolution) like LG's V-Series, powered by a 2.15GHz Snapdragon 821 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage expandable via microSD, a built-in AI for suggestions under the Sense Companion name, a f/1.8 12MP Ultrapixel 2 rear-facing camera w/ OIS + laser & phase detection autofocus, 16MP front-facing shooter w/ Ultrapixel mode, Hi-Fi BoomSound + 3D audio recording thanks to its 4 mics, fingerprint reader, USB-C w/ no headphone jack, and a 3000 mAh battery.
HTC made their 2nd screen to be the focus of the Sense Companion virtual assistant.
There is also a mid-level version of the U series w/ the U Play smartphone. Of course, there are several things missing from this spec sheet compared to the U Ultra. Like the 2nd display, the faster Snapdragon CPU, 3D audio recording, and larger battery.
The U Play offers up a 5.2inch 1080p display, powered by an octa-core MediaTek CPU, 3GB/4GB of RAM, 32GB/64GB of storage expandable via microSD, you still have the Sense Companion AI, an older f/2.0 16MP Ultrapixel rear-facing camera w/ laser + phase detection autofocus, f/2.0 16MP front-facing shooter w/ Ultrapixel mode, USB-C 2.0 instead of the standard 3.0, a fingerprint reader, and a 2500 mAh battery.
We're curious to get our hands on them to really see how weel their AI works over Google Assistant. As long as they didn't go backward w/ the camera, this should be a good look for HTC. The U Ultra is up for pre-order now for $749 and the U Play won't make its way to the US. What're your thoughts on the new look from HTC?
