HTC's U11 gained two siblings today, and neither of them has been a particularly well-kept secret. They're certainly not identical twins, either. The aptly named HTC U11+ is a substantially updated, upsized version of the headline U11 from earlier in the year, with an 18:9, 6-inch display, a huge battery, and the most modern design ever seen on an HTC phone. The U11 Life is a mid-ranger that will launch with Android One outside the US.

U11+

If these phones are twins, the U11+ has to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. HTC is finally on board with the 18:9 aspect ratio that's been used for most of this year's flagship phones, and its bezels are significantly reduced compared to any other HTC phone. It's not bezel-less by any means, but it's a step in the right direction. HTC claims that it has an 82% screen-to-body ratio, which is very close to the Galaxy S8 and others.

The engineers have also managed to cram in a 3,930mAh battery, which promises greater longevity than many of its competitors. For comparison, the battery in the Pixel 2 XL is 3,520mAh, while the Galaxy S8+ has a 3500mAh cell, and they're both considered pretty large already.

SPECS

OS

Android 8.0 Oreo with HTC Sense

Display

6-inch, Quad HD+ (2880 x 1440) Super LCD 6, Corning Gorilla Glass 5, DCI-P3, HDR10

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 64-bit octa-core, up to 2.45GHz

RAM / Storage

6GB / 128GB (in Europe) 4GB / 64GB (ROW) - microSD expandable up to 2TB with Flex Storage

Rear Camera

12MP, HTC UltraPixel 3 with 1.4µm pixels, UltraSpeed Autofocus, BSI sensor, OIS, f/1.7 aperture, dual LED flash

Front Camera

8MP with 85° field of view, BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture

Video Recording

4K with Hi-Res Audio, 3D Audio and Acoustic Focus recording with 4 microphones, 1080p video recording on the front

Audio

HTC USonic with Active Noise Cancellation, HTC BoomSound Hi-Fi edition, Hi-Res Audio stereo recording, Hi-Res audio certified, Qualcomm aptX HD, LDAC 24-bit high-resolution wireless audio via Bluetooth

Connectivity

USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5GHz), NFC, HTC Connect, AirPlay, Chromecast, DLNA, and Miracast compatible

Battery

3930mAh, QuickCharge 3.0

Other

IP68 rating, rear fingerprint scanner

Headphone Jack

Nope

Dimensions

158.5 x 74.9 x 8.5mm

Weight

188g

Around the back, it looks a lot like its smaller sibling with the same almost impossibly shiny 'liquid surface' finish. It also shares many of the same internals, including the Snapdragon 835 SoC and an identical 12MP single lens camera module which produced decent results on the U11. RAM and Storage configurations are also unchanged, with Europe only getting the 6GB/128GB version and other territories able to select a 4GB/64GB model as well. This phone will not be coming to the US at all.

The U11+ will be one of the first phones to ship with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, which will have HTC's lightweight Sense UI theming over the top, as usual. Edge Sense returns, which is no surprise after the side squeezing feature was borrowed by Google for the new Pixels. It gains new functionality, too, including an Edge Launcher designed to improve one-handed use with a wheel-like app selection tool (below). Edge Sense can also be used to summon either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa with a squeeze of the frame, and it's even possible to have them running at the same time if you use both platforms. If that's not enough, the HTC Sense Companion is also on hand to offer helpful suggestions based on how you use the phone.

Edge launcher is activated with a squeeze, and aims to make one-handed use much easier.

HTC is keen to talk up the audio quality on the U11+. It includes the loudest ever BoomSound with 30% more volume than the original U11, with better dynamic range and less distortion, too. The bundled USonic earbuds are capable of mapping your inner ear with sonar-like technology to offer a tailored listening experience. Advanced Active noise cancellation is another plus for the earbuds. On par with other recent flagships, the U11+ is IP68 rated so it will survive a dunk in the pool, but it also does away with the headphone jack. The earbuds are therefore USB-C.

The misleadingly named Ceramic Black HTC U11+ (it's glass, not ceramic) will be available to pre-order from November 20th, costing £699/€799.

U11 Life

The Danny DeVito of the new twins is the U11 Life, which has a more modest set of specs. Unlike the U11+, the Life will make its way to the States, but that's the only place where it won't be an Android One device. Elsewhere it will be, most notably in the UK where it's the first of its kind. As an Android One phone, it's guaranteed to get security updates for three years.

The U11 Life shares a lot less with its older sibling. It's powered by the mid-range Snapdragon 630, with either 3 or 4GB of RAM depending on the region. It's got a smaller 5.2-inch 1080p display and just a 2,600mAh battery. It's also waterproof, but to a slightly lesser extent with an IP67 rating.

SPECS

OS

Android One with Oreo (ROW) or Android Nougat with HTC Sense (US)

Display

5.2-inch, Full HD 1080p (1080 x 1920) Super LCD, Corning Gorilla Glass

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Mobile, octa-core

RAM / Storage

3GB / 32GB or 4GB / 64GB, depending on region, microSD expansion expandable up to 2TB with Flex Storage

Rear Camera

16MP, Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF), BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture

Front Camera

16MP, BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture

Video Recording

4K rear, 1080p front

Audio

HTC USonic with Active Noise Cancellation, High-resolution audio recording, Hi-Res audio certified

Connectivity

USB-C 2.0, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 & 5GHz), NFC. Chromecast, DLNA, and Miracast compatible

Battery

2600mAh, QuickCharge 3.0

Other

IP67 rating, front fingerprint scanner

Headphone Jack

no

Dimensions

149.09 x 72.9 x 8.1mm

Weight

142g

In the US, the U11 will launch with Android Nougat, although an update to Oreo is expected for late November. It will cost $349 when bought directly from HTC. T-Mobile will be the exclusive carrier option in the US, and it's even offering the phone for less on its own site. In Europe, the Android One U11 Life will cost £349/€379. There will be two color options, Sapphire Blue and Brilliant Black.

One more thing...

I'm not entirely sure why HTC has shared these images (other than because they're cool), as there are apparently no plans at present to release this version of the phone, but the U11+ also comes in a stunning Translucent Black colorway. I've seen this model in person, and it's quite extraordinary. These pictures simply don't do it justice. You can see the guts of the phone through the semi-transparent casing, most prominently the NFC coil, and it's great to see HTC try something a little bit different. Hopefully, HTC will get round to launching this version at some point, but in the meantime, you'll just have to make do with these images.

PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE