HTC U Ultra review: Bad decisions in a beautiful body
Sat Mar 25, 2017
I was almost giddy when I reviewed the HTC 10 last year. After years of casting about for the right approach, the company built a phone that seemed like a clear step in the right direction. Fast forward to January 2017: HTC revealed the $750 U Ultra, a glossy flagship that represented a totally new direction for the company. The phone packs a huge screen, a second display for quick controls and an AI-powered virtual assistant that promises to subtly help you out during the day. It's an ambitious device, certainly, but what's life without a few risks? Unfortunately, looks aside, HTC's newest phone feels poorly thought-out. At the risk of sounding too grim too early, the HTC U Ultra is beautiful, expensive and misguided.
Pros
Fantastic design
Excellent build quality
Mostly good performance
Speaker setup works well
Sense Companion is a good idea
Cons
The glass body scratches easily
Not water- or dust-resistant
Expensive for what you actually get
Second screen doesn’t do much
Small battery
Relatively mediocre camera
Summary
HTC’s new U Ultra smartphone oozes style, and for the most part it’s a very speedy, very well built flagship. That said, the company made some puzzling decisions here. This is a big phone with a big screen, but HTC fitted it with a relatively small 3,000mAh battery. The secondary screen above the main display falls short of being useful. The 12-megapixel camera can be quite good at times, but it’s easily outclassed by rival devices. The kicker is how much it costs: We’re being asked to pay $750 for a device that, in many ways, doesn’t feel completely thought through. It’s clear HTC paid close attention to the U Ultra’s fit and finish -- we just wish the rest of the phone were subject to the same level of scrutiny.
SOURCE: ENGADGET
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