HTC U11+ announced; catches up with the 18:9 trend

Finally, an 18:9 display in a HTC flagship!

HTC’s has just announced their HTC U11+, the latest smartphone from the ailing Taiwanese company. While the HTC U11 looked rather lackluster when placed besides the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6 which featured fancier 18:9 displays, the HTC U11+ brings HTC up to parity with the aforementioned devices.

In with the new…

The HTC U11+ upsizes the display from a 5.5″ SuperLCD 5 to a new 6″ 18:9 QHD+ (2880 x 1440) SuperLCD 5 panel under Gorilla Glass 5. Aside from the bigger screen, the HTC U11+ also launches with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.The water resistance has also been upgraded to IP68, an improvement over the IP67 rating on the HTC U11. The battery has also been significantly upgraded, with a 3930 mAh power pack in the HTC U11+ versus the HTC U11’s 3000 mAh.

And oh, the fingerprint sensor is moved to the back. The only HTC that I can remember having the fingerprint sensor on the back was the HTC One Max. Yep, the very first members of the One family. It is quite necessary here considering there isn’t much space left on the front for a fingerprint sensor anyway.

…and the old too!

Most of the good stuff that the HTC U11 came with is still present in the HTC U11+. You get one of the best rear cameras in a smartphone, which is the same 12MP f/1.7 camera which scored 90 on DxOMark. Edge Sense also makes an appearance here, now updated with more functions. HTC USonic earbuds which can customize the sound according to your ear profile is also here.

The Snapdragon 835 under the liquid surface glass panel on the back is also back. You also get a choice of either 4GB RAM and 64GB storage or 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Considering the HTC U11 which arrived in Malaysia came with 6GB RAM, we can expect the same numbers for the HTC U11+.

Pricing wise the HTC U11+ is slated to be priced at €799/£699 in Europe and the UK, respectively. It will be made available in Malaysia beginning December 2017, with pricing to be announced at a later date. The HTC U11+ will come in Ceramic Black and Amazing Silver here. It is available in a unique Translucent finish in certain regions, so here’s hoping it will make its way here too!

Pokdepinion: The HTC U11+ isn’t going to be cheap, but it looks like it is actually a legit contender in the market this time around.