Taiwanese handset-maker HTC finally launched its U series in India with U Ultra and U Play smartphones, today in the Indian market. The high-end 64GB variant of the U Ultra has been priced at Rs 59,990, while its younger sibling, the U Play will cost buyers Rs 39,990. The U series, is a brand new series of smartphones, was first unveiled by HTC at CES 2017 in Las Vegas last month along with a cheaper variant called the HTC U Play. HTC Ultra will go on sale from March 5th, while U Play will be available in the market from mid-March.
SOMETHING ABOUT HTC U SERIES SMARTPHONES:-
The highlight of the HTC’s new line of U smartphones is Sense Companion, a company’s own AI personal assistant based system that learns the user’s daily patterns to provide usage recommendations and friendly advice. Another highlight is the phone capability of prioritising notifications delivered to users in a discreet way without lighting the screen. The HTC Sense Companion also uses machine learning (similar to the Google Assistant) to make the device more personal by adapting to user’s behaviour over the time.
Both the phones, come with HTC’s Sense Companion AI which “isn’t only about machine learning, but also an extension of you, the user,” according to the company.
The HTC U Ultra comes packed with a 5.7-inch Sapphire glass display, whereas the U Play features a smaller 5.2-inch glass display. The secondary ticker display on the HTC U Ultra also works in accordance to the Sense Companion AI which uses cloud data to enhance user experience with alerts and notifications. To make the devices more AI-friendly, HTC has incorporated four ‘always-on’ low-power microphones inside the phone, which can respond to user’s every command.
The U Ultra and the U Play are said to come with a one-of-its-kind biometric voice unlock and control mechanism so users can securely unlock their phone without even interacting with it. The U Ultra and the U Play also come with “sonar-like pulse” based audio system, which called U-Sonic – over headphones that is claimed to deliver high-resolution sound that is also capable of adapting to the user. The U line-up also comes with a new design which as per HTC is the liquid 3D design, made up of metal (aluminium) and glass that boasts of an all-around symmetrical construction that reflects light differently when viewed from every angle.
HTC U ULTRA SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES: –
HTC U Ultra comes packed with a 5.7-inch QHD Super LCD 5 display with 2560×1440 pixel resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 coating on top. Similar to the LG V20, the HTC U Ultra also has a 2.0-inch secondary display with 160 x 1040 resolution, which sits beside the selfie camera placed on top of the main display. The secondary display runs HTC’s much talked about Sense Companion AI platform. The secondary display offers a quick way to show notifications, email alerts including upcoming events, weather forecasts or customised notifications.
The device is powered by 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor clocked at 2.15 GHz and Adreno 530 GPU. The HTC U Ultra is backed by 4GB of RAM and comes in two internal storage variants namely 64GB and 128 GB, that are further expandable by up to 2TB via a hybrid microSD card slot. The 64GB variant is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, while the 128GB variant is protected by Sapphire glass. The dual-SIM phone runs on latest Android version, 7.0 Nougat with a skin of HTC sense UI on top.
For photography enthusiasts, the HTC U Ultra bears a 12-megapixel (UltraPixel) rear camera with 1.55-micron pixels, a BSI sensor, super-fast laser focus and new Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF), optical image stabilisation and a dual-tone LED flash. The primary camera also comes with Ultrapixel 2 sensor featuring with f/1.8 aperture and the device is capable of shooting videos in 4K resolution with 3D Audio support. On the front, HTC U Ultra sports a 16-megapixel camera with an UltraPixel mode, BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture and 28mm focal length. UltraPixel mode is four times more light sensitive than standard mode (best for low-light photos). The front shooter comes with live make up mode, voice selfie, and full HD 1080p video recording support. HTC is also offering BoomSound speaker and four microphones for hi-res audio recording.
In terms of Connectivity, the device supports dual SIM dual standby using the (nano-SIM + nano-SIM/microSD) slot. Connectivity options include front fingerprint sensor, 4G LTE with VoLTE, Bluetooth v4.2, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS with GLONASS, DLNA, Miracast, HTC Connect, NFC and USB 3.1 Type-C port. HTC U Ultra also comes with HTC U-Sonic feature, which allows it to analyse the shape of user’s inner ear with a “sonar-like pulse”. Being a Type-C USB port based smartphone, HTC U Ultra doesn’t feature the standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
With all these high-end specifications, the device is fuelled by a 3,000mAh non-removable battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0 for fast charging. The battery is rated to deliver up to 26 hours of talk time and lasts up to 13 days in standby mode. The phone also includes Proximity, Compass, G-sensor, Magnetic, Gyro and Ambient light sensors. It measures 162.41 x 79.79 x 7.99 mm and weighs around 170 grams.
HTC U PLAY SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES: –
Talking about HTC U ultra’s younger sibling, the HTC U Play comes with a 5.2-inch Super LCD full HD (1920×1080) display with Pixel density at 428 ppi (pixel per inch) and the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The phone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with HTC Sense UI out-of-the-box and is powered by a 64 bit octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 chipset coupled with Mali T860 GPU. It is available in two variants – 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage. The smartphone also supports microSD card for additional storage, that you can expandable your storage up to 2TB.
In terms of photography, HTC U Play features a 16-megapixel rear camera with 1 µm pixels, BSI sensor, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF), Auto-focus, dual-tone LED flash, f/2.0 aperture and 28 mm focal length. The device is capable of shooting videos in Full HD 1080p video recording at 30 fps. On the front, HTC U Play sports a 16-megapixel front-facing camera onboard with f/2.0 aperture and 26.5 mm focal length, Auto-HDR and the UltraPixel mode. The front shooter comes with live make up mode, auto selfie (smile selfie, still selfie), voice selfie, and full HD 1080p video recording support. The HTC U Play also comes with Video Pic mode that capture a 2-megapixel photo while recording Full HD 1080p video.
In terms of Connectivity Options, HTC U Play supports Hybrid dual-SIM dual standby using the (nano-SIM + nano-SIM/microSD) slot. Connectivity options also include front fingerprint sensor, 4G LTE with VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5 GHz), BlueTooth 4.2, GPS antenna with GLONASS, NFC, DLNA, Miracast, HTC Connect and USB 2.0 Type-C port. Just like the HTC U Ultra, HTC U Play also lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack and has USB 2.0 Type-C audio connectivity instead. It features HTC U-Sonic speakers with Dual microphones and noise cancellation.
HTC U Play is backed by a 2,500mAh non-removable battery and builds for fast charging. The battery is rated to deliver up to 15 hours of talk time on 3G network and lasts up to 17 days in standby mode. The phone also includes Ambient light, Motion G-sensor, Proximity, Compass, Gyro and Magnetic sensors. It measures 145.99 x 72.9 x 7.99 mm and weighs around 145 grams.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY: –
The HTC U Ultra will be available from March 6 in three color choices of Black Oil, Cosmetic Pink and Indigo Blue at a price tag of Rs. 59,990, while HTC U Play is priced at Rs. 39,990 and will be available from mid-March in four color options — Blue, Black, Pink, and White.
