HTC U12+ smartphone test

S-class smartphone ("Mercedes" scale A, B, C, E, S)

Rating scale 1-6 (6 - excellent )

HTC U12+ is a very interesting smartphone that should interest customers looking for original top-shelf phones. U12+ has one of the best cameras and an interesting design without a notch. We also have Edge Sense 2 technology. Although the HTC U12+ is not without flaws, it definitely deserves our attention.

Advantages

Disadvantages

The HTC U12+ design can be briefly described as classic simplicity with interesting and unique accents. In HTC U12+ we will not find a curved display, nor rounded corners of the screen, nor even the recently popular notch. There are narrow screen frames, a glass back with rounded corners and extraordinary colors. The model in the most conservative (boring?) Ceramic Black option was tested, but Translucent Blue is also available, which combines shades of blue with a semi-transparent back of the housing. In my opinion, this is an original and great-looking variant of the housing. The dimensions of the device are 156.6 x 73.9 x 8.7 mm and the weight is 188 grams.

The HTC should be commended for the non-protruding camera lenses, which prevented the phone from wobbling on a flat surface. The fingerprint reader located on the back of the housing also works flawlessly. The smartphone is sealed according to the IP68 standard, so flooding is not afraid of it.

The first unique feature of the HTC U12+ is the ability to recognize the force of pressure on the phone case. This serves as additional physical buttons that can be assigned any function, separately for a short and long squeeze. The plus of the solution is that you don't have to look for this button - we squeeze the whole phone and after the trouble. Similar technology is used in the physical buttons responsible for power and volume control. They are not movable elements of the housing, but pressure-sensitive parts of the phone frame. This allowed for easier sealing of the housing, greater durability, as well as a stronger construction of the entire phone. No pressed buttons means no cutouts in the phone's aluminum frame, which increases the bending resistance of the housing.

I will write more about Edge Sense 2 functions in the course of system functions. Here I will mention that I like the concept very much, but the operation in my copy of the phone was not reliable. Sometimes squeezes didn't register, sometimes they activated on their own. However, it hasn't happened often enough to make me want to disable the feature (it's possible). In my opinion, the manufacturer should refine Edge Sense even more.

HTC U12+ does not have a headphone jack, but it has the best, most comfortable headphones that are included in the sales set. The headphones are connected directly to the USB C socket. USonic headphones can both actively eliminate ambient noise and adjust their sound by profiling the user's ear canals. They sound really good.

Speaking of sound, I wanted to point out that the HTC U12+ also has one of the best speakerphone modes on the market. HTC BoomSound works great - the smartphone acts as a resonance chamber for two speakers. One is located in the bottom edge, the other in the place where we put our ear during conversations. The sound is louder, clearer and deeper than competing manufacturers. Only selected, specific designs, such as the Razer Phone can compete with HTC in this aspect. So if we are in the habit of using the phone for hands-free calls, listening to broadcasts or audiobooks without headphones, the HTC U12+ is a great candidate.

The HTC U12+ display does not disappoint. It has a diagonal of 6 inches, a high resolution of QHD + 2880 x 1440 pixels and a widescreen aspect ratio of 18: 9. The pixel density is 537 PPI and the technology in which the panel was made is Super LCD6.

HTC U12+ has adapted to the trend of widescreen display with narrow bezels. The side frames are barely noticeable, the upper and lower ones are symmetrical and a bit larger than the competition - the display fills the housing slightly more than 80%, and the best results achieved so far are several percent better.

The quality of the display is very good, both in terms of viewing angles, color saturation and contrast. Only the latest AMOLED panels can be better. The maximum brightness could be a bit higher, but I had no problems with readability.

The screen complies with HDR10 standards and the DCI-P3 cinematic color profile. In the settings you will find a night mode that eliminates blue light. You can also manually adjust the color temperature from warmer to cooler. The final element is the smart screen, which can inform you about the time and notifications on a black "display blank" when we pick up the phone or constantly, as long as we accept faster battery consumption. Fortunately, this did not exclude the traditional notification diode, which I personally value very much.

HTC U12+ is the highest model in the manufacturer's offer, so it received the strongest specification. Octa-core Snapdragon 845 clocked at 4x2.8 plus 4x1.7 GHz, 6 GB RAM and 64 GB for the system and files. In addition, we still have support for micro SD memory cards. Performance is enough for the most efficient applications. In the benchmark Antutu HTC U12+ scored over 256,000 points, in Geekbench 4 2437 points for a single core and 8983 points for the sum of cores and 13095 points in the OpenCL test. During testing, we recorded over 720 MB/s reading and almost 200 MB/s sequential writing in Androbench.

The smartphone communicates with the world using LTE cat. 18 1200/150 Mbps, dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 5 and NFC. Importantly, USB C works on the USB 3.1 controller and supports image transfer using the DisplayPort standard. Location is done using GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou.

Sensor set includes: ambient light sensor, magnetic sensor, proximity sensor, fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, edge sensor.

My HTC U12+ was running Android 8.0 with March 1, 2018 security. The other two Android phones I have on hand are May 1 security.

The system has been enriched with the HTC Sense UI overlay, which modifies not only the appearance, but also the functions of the device. To the left of the main dashboard is a summary of the social and news sites that you have chosen to grant access by granting the appropriate permissions. There's Facebook, Google+, Calendar, Twitter, YouTube, Nearby Restaurant Recommendations, and News Republic. The system allows you to record the screen from the shortcut bar. HTC made sure that Google's applications do not duplicate with system ones, so there are no two different applications for viewing images - there are only Google Photos.

Among the additionally installed applications we will find:

The most important, however, is the integration of Edge Sense 2, i.e. sensors on the edge of the phone with the system and overlay. The basics are the same as in the previous HTC U11+ model, i.e. a short and long squeeze of the phone can be assigned to two different functions. In this way, you can launch the camera, voice assistant, turn on the flashlight, take a screenshot, activate the hotspot or activate accessibility, as well as launch any application installed on the phone. These functions work even when the smartphone has a locked screen, unless security prevents it. In other words, we will always turn on the flashlight on the locked screen, with and without fingerprint protection.

In the same way, you can assign short and long squeeze to functions inside a running application. Some popular applications have ready-made suggestions, e.g. in Google Maps you can enlarge the image, and in the camera application you can take a photo or switch from the rear camera to the front one. The user also has the option to configure his own operation. To do this, he can go to any screen of the application, then perform a single or double tap on any element of the interface and save it as a squeeze.

New in Edge Sense 2 is the recognition that the phone is held by the user. Then the smartphone can automatically prevent the screen from turning off.

Another novelty is the double tap of the thumb on the edge of the phone. This extends the short and long squeeze repertoire with a third option. There are new possibilities here, such as reducing the screen, back, activating the navigation bar with system buttons and the rest of the options also available for squeeze. The phone takes into account which side has been tapped, so it recognizes whether we hold the smartphone in the left or right hand.

In my opinion, the most practical feature is the Quick Access Panel. These are two concentric circles containing shortcut icons that line up perfectly within your thumb's radius. 11 icons are displayed at a time and you can scroll the panel to access another 11 icons. In the Quick Access Panel options, you can add successive sets of icons, choose whether it should scroll smoothly and freely like a knob, or skip a full set of icons. You can also adjust its distance from the edge of the phone so that you can reach it with your thumb as comfortably as possible.

You can add any installed application as a shortcut in the Panel. You can also add any contact from your address book as a call to a specific number or send a text message to a specific number.

Activating with squeezes takes some practice. It happened, though not very often, that the functions activated themselves. It's not the same comfort as physical buttons, but Edge Sense 2's flexibility is far greater. There were also system overlay error messages. That's why I keep my fingers crossed that it will be better with the next software updates, because the direction is certainly right and brings considerable value to the user.

HTC U12+has a total of 4 cameras, two on the back and two on the front. This combination is to make it easier to take portrait photos with a blurred background, regardless of whether we are photographing someone or taking a selfie. The main, wide-angle camera has a resolution of 12 megapixels and a brightness of F/1.8. It is adjacent to a camera with a double magnification with a resolution of 16 megapixels (although photos from it are also recorded in 12 megapixels) and a brightness of F/2.6. Both front cameras have 8 megapixels and F/2.0 brightness.

The main camera has OIS optical stabilization, focuses using phase detection and is supported by laser distance measurement. In terms of hardware, we are dealing with the top shelf. Personally, I would replace the second camera with an even more wide-angle lens or increase the magnification to three times, as is the case with the Huawei P20 Pro. In practice, I used the second camera occasionally, because the benefits of double magnification are usually not enough to balance a much darker lens.

HTC U12+is the second smartphone in the DxOMark photo benchmark after the P20 Pro, making HTC brag about being the best dual-port smartphone camera on the market (P20 Pro has three cameras on the back). Regardless of the test results, it must be admitted that HTC actually takes very good photos. They are detailed, sharp, with saturated colors.

Two technologies are responsible for such good results. The first one is Instant Multi-Frame processing. Each captured image is actually a data download from a series of captured frames. A series of photos is taken in the background, imperceptibly to the user. So there are no delays. Previously, the Google Pixel 2 and Samsung S8 and S9 smartphones used this technology.

The second one is HTC HDR Boostversion 2, which allows you to take more tonally balanced photos, with more saturated colors, both in contrasting lighting and in night photos. HDR Boost can be turned on permanently, turned off, or let the smartphone decide when it will use HDR. The delay is slightly greater, but of no practical significance.

Both functions work very well. Combined with a bright lens, fast focusing and optical stabilization, the effects are at the forefront of mobile photography.

Other important photo features include Pro mode with a full range of manual settings and RAW recording. There is a panorama with a resolution of about 30 megapixels. There are also animated masks called AR Stickers that add a variety of animated effects to your face.

Portrait mode works pretty well and produces predictable, repetitive results. Despite everything, according to both portrait mode and night shotsHuawei P20 Pro is an unsurpassed leader. In ordinary photos HTC can compete with any strong player.

The selfie quality is very good and takes full advantage of the 8 megapixels. The photos are sharp and detailed. As with the main camera, portrait mode with a blurred background works predictably and quite well.

HTC U12+ records 4K materials up to 60 frames per second and using optical stabilization also at the highest resolution. During video recording, it can record sound in three modes - 3D, high-resolution 96KHz, 24-bit and lossless FLAC recording, as well as Acoustic Focus, amplifying the sound from a specific source. During video recording, it is also possible to apply smooth zoom by adjusting its speed.

The quality of the recordings is very good, according to the resolution settings. I had no problems with 4K 60p recordings. The sound quality is actually noticeably better. If we add Hyperlapse and slow-motion 1080p in 240 frames per second, we have one of the most complete smartphones for video recording. Super slow-motion in 960 frames per second is missing, as well as 4K HDR video, which is only offered by Xperia XZ2.

Sample photos:

Sample video:

The battery in the HTC U12+ has a capacity of 3500 mAh, which is smaller than in the U11+< /b>. The included charger supports Quick Charge 3.0 and charges the phone halfway in about 35 minutes. The phone itself supports Quick Charge 4.0 technology.

In the test of continuous YouTube video streaming at half screen brightness, the smartphone lasted 8 hours and 14 minutes, then it had 10% of the battery left. As a result, you can expect less than 9 hours of video streaming to fully discharge. This result ensures comfort and no need to carry the charger with you. A full day of intensive use is achievable with the HTC U12+. However, it should be remembered that there are devices on the market with a working time a few hours better.

HTC U12+ is not only a successful smartphone, but also unique in many ways. This uniqueness results from the implementation of the Edge Sense 2 touch interface and thoughtful gestures. It is true that Edge Sense does not work perfectly, but it has great potential. I also believe that with subsequent software updates it will be better. As a result, HTC U12+ is a smartphone with the most powerful specification, a good screen with narrow bezels, great headphones and one of the best cameras on the market. If we accept the lack of a headphone jack, a second camera that does not necessarily use its full potential and occasional, not too annoying errors in the software, we will get an extraordinary flagship. The HTC U12+ has a lot to offer.

Who HTC U12+ is for

Who HTC U12+ is not for

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