As expected, HTC has today launched its two latest smartphones in the Indian market — HTC U Ultra and a smaller variant of the same, dubbed as HTC U Play. Both the devices will go on sale from March 6. Originally, both the smartphones were unveiled last month at CES 2017 in Las Vegas.
The HTC U Ultra will be available in three color variants –Black Oil, Cosmetic Pink and Indigo Blue, while the color options for U Play are not yet known. Both the smartphones — U Ultra and U Play are priced at Rs 59,990 and Rs 39,990, respectively.
To remind you of the specs, the HTC U Ultra comes with 5.7-inch display with screen resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. On top of the main display, there is a secondary display of 2-inches, which can be customised with shortcuts for contacts or any other app or notifications. The secondary display is one of the major highlight of this phone.
Under the hood, it is powered by a Snapdragon 821 processor, along with 4GB of RAM. In terms of internal storage, it comes with two options — 64GB and 128GB. There is also an option to expand the storage up to 2TB using a microSD card.
The device is powered by a 3000 mAh battery, which seems a little small for a device with 5.7-inch QHD display. In terms of software, it runs on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. This time, HTC has worked on improving software offering, and has added HTC Sense Companion — a voice assistant equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning. It also uses data from the cloud to further enhance user experience with alerts and notifications.
There is a 12 MP Ultrapixel sensor, which has been upgraded with phase detection auto focus. It also features laser auto focus, f/1.8 aperture, and OIS. It uses Sony IMX378 sensor at back. On the front, there is a 16 MP camera sensor, with a new “Ultrapixel Mode” which produces 4 MP images.
As the headphone jack is now missing, HTC is bundling USonic earphones — a rebranded version of the in-ear headphones that were included with the HTC Bolt and 10 Evo, and connects with the USB-C port.
For those who aren’t keen for the secondary screen, there is another model — U Play. It comes without the secondary strip display, and with a smaller 5.2-inch full HD display with Gorilla Glass protection on top. It will be available in two variants — 3GB of RAM with 3GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage.
Instead of the Snapdragon 821 SoC, this one is powered by a Helio P10 processor, with 2500mAh battery. However, in the software department, it’s a step behind U Ultra, as it runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. Hopefully, Android Nougat will be available soon.
The smartphone is powered by a 2500mAh battery, and comes with fast charging technology. Connectivity options include dual-SIM support, fingerprint sensor, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and NFC.
While the U Play is a lesser variant of the U Ultra, the company has retained the same design style and the new AI assistant Sense Companion.
