HTC reveal their liquid surface U Ultra and U Play smartphones

HTC has today announced two new smartphones to their “U” lineup, taking the form of the HTC U Play and the HTC U Ultra. While it is normally the hardware specifications that steal the show, HTC has opted for astounding us all with the liquid surface design. This new surface material gives a “symmetrical, curved glass construction” that is able to have such a high gloss finish thanks to the “vapored minerals layered to add depth and brilliance from every angle”. And they were not wrong there as the new U range looks absolutely incredible! While HTC do impress on the aesthetics, the hardware is not too far behind with the Ultra featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, 4GB of memory and a massive 3,000mAh battery.

And if that was not enough to get you interested, the U phones also come with a secondary display at the top which is used for displaying notifications. There is no denying that HTC has shaken things up here with an unexpectedly great looking smartphone. It is a shame that HTC did not wait for the Snapdragon 835 processor, as that would have made this really deserving of the price tag. The mobile phones are up for pre-order later today, with the U Ultra setting you back $749.00 for the 64GB version. The full specs for both phones can be found below:

HTC U Ultra Specifications

Size: 162.41 x 79.79 x 3.6-7.99mm
Weight: 170g
Display: 5.7 inch, Quad HD (2560×1440) Super LCD 5 with Dual Display and Gorilla Glass 5 (64GB model) or Sapphire Glass (128GB model)
Dual Display: 2.05 inch (160×1040 pixels)

PLATFORM

Android™ 7.0 with HTC Sense™
HTC Sense Companion: AI for suggestions based on things you do

PROCESSOR

Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
64-bit, quad-core, up to 2.15GHz

MEMORY

Configuration varies by region and operator
Total storage: 64GB or 128GB
RAM: 4GB
Expandable: microSD™ expansion supports additional memory cards up to 2TB with Flex Storage (optional cards not included)

CAMERA

Main Camera
12MP HTC UltraPixel 2 with 1.55μm pixel
BSI sensor
Laser autofocus
Phase detection autofocus (PDAF)
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
ƒ/1.8 aperture
Dual-tone LED flash
Slow motion video recording in 720p at 120fps
4K video recording with 3D Audio, Hi-Res audio
Modes include Auto HDR, Panorama, Pro mode with manual control, long exposure and RAW format support, Zoe capture, Video Pic, face detection, continuous shooting, Zoe capture, Hyperlapse, Video Pic
Front Camera
16MP, with UltraPixel™ mode
BSI sensor
Full HD 1080p video recording
Modes include Live makeup, Auto HDR, Auto Selfie, Voice Selfie, Live Make-Up, Selfie Panorama, Video Pic

SOUND

HTC USonic
HTC BoomSound™ Hi-Fi edition
3D Audio recording with 4 microphones
Hi-Res audio stereo recording
Hi-Res audio certified
Noise cancelation

NETWORK

2G/2.5G GSM/GPRS/EDGE

Single SIM

850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Dual SIM

850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G UMTS
Single SIM
AWS/850/900/1900/2100 MHz
HSDPA 42, HSUPA 5.76
Dual SIM
850/900/1900/2100 MHz
HSDPA 42, HSUPA 5.76
4G LTE™ (up to 600Mbps)
Single SIM
FDD: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28
TDD: Bands 38, 39, 40, 41 with 2CA, 3CA
Support Cat 11 LTE: downloads up to 600Mbps, uploads up to 50Mbps
VoLTE and WiFi calling
Dual SIM
FDD: Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28
TDD: Bands 38, 39, 40, 41 with 2CA, 3CA
Support Cat 11 LTE: downloads up to 600Mbps, uploads up to 50Mbps
VoLTE and WiFi calling

SIM

Nano SIM

SENSORS

Ambient light sensor
Proximity sensor
Motion G-sensor
Compass sensor
Gyro sensor
Magnetic sensor
Fingerprint sensor
Sensor Hub for activity tracking

LOCATION

GPS + AGPS
GLONASS
Beidou

CONNECTIVITY

USB 3.1 Gen 1, Type-C
Bluetooth® 4.2
Wi-Fi®: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5GHz)

NFC

HTC Connect™ for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to compatible multi-room audio systems, TVs, portable speakers and home entertainment systems
Streaming media from the phone to compatible AirPlay™, Chromecast, DLNA™, Miracast™ devices

BATTERY

Capacity: 3000mAh
Talk time on 3G/4G: up to 26 hours
Standby time on 3G/4G: up to 13 days
Power saving mode
Extreme power saving mode
Quick Charge 3.0

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Motion Launch
Quiet ring on pick-up
Pocket mode
Flip to mute
Display color personalization

HTC U Play Specifications

Size: 145.99 x 72.9 x 3.5-7.99mm
Weight: 145g
Display: 5.2 inch, Full HD (1080p) Super LCD with Gorilla Glass