Introduction
HTC is back with the next generation of its Liquid Surface phones. The HTC U12+ is this year's flagship from the Taiwanese phone maker and it improves on some of the features first introduced by the U11. Edge Sense 2.0 gets new gestures and there are now double the number of cameras: dual cameras on the front and rear.
HTC decided to give the U12 the "Plus" suffix, even though there won't be a non-Plus model. This is because HTC wants everyone to know that it is comparable to other smartphones that carry the "Plus" moniker like the iPhone 8 Plus or the Galaxy S9+. It's about as large as the latter, but HTC's Liquid Surface glass looks much nicer by comparison.
We're looking at a great feature set for the U12+: a high-performing dual camera system, dual cameras in the front (a first for any HTC flagship coming to the States), Edge Sense 2.0, and a new LCD 6 display which supports HDR 10. Other features like the noise-cancelling USonic earbuds have made a return in the same state as last year.
HTC was reluctant to switch to 18:9 displays for the U11, but ended up releasing the U11+ late-last year in select markets. With the U12, HTC has embraced this new taller display trend. We're also quite thankful there is no notch.
HTC U12+ Specs
- Body: Liquid Surface design; IP68; Aluminum chassis
- Screen: 6-inch QHD+ (2880 x 1440) 18:9 537ppi Super LCD 6 protected by Gorilla Glass 3 on front and rear
- Rear Camera: 12MP Wide (1.4 micron, f/1.75) + 16MP Tele (1.0 micron, f/2.6); Laser + Phase detection autofocus; Optical zoom up to 2X; HDR Boost; OIS + EIS; Dual LED flash; Portrait mode; RAW; 4K @ 60fps; 240fps @ 1080p
- Front Camera: Dual 8MP (1.12 micron, f/2.0) fixed focus; portrait mode; HDR Boost; FHD @ 30fps; 84-degree field of view
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, octa-core CPU (4x2.7GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7GHz Kryo 385 Silver), Adreno 630 GPU
- Memory: 6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB of storage, microSD slot
- OS: Android 8.0 Oreo with HTC Sense
- Battery: 3,500 mAh non-removable, Quick Charge 3.0 charger included, QC4 compatible
- Connectivity: Single-SIM, Dual-SIM available in certain markets (hybrid slot); LTE-A, 4-Band/5-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.18 (1.2Gbps/150Mbps); USB Type-C (v3.1); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac MU-MIMO; GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo; NFC; Bluetooth 5.0.
- Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, BoomSound dual speakers; pressure sensitive buttons; HTC Edge Sense 2 - customizable squeeze gestures
The U11's camera was pretty killer, and we expect that the U12+ will be even better. Of course, that second camera brings 2X zoom and a proper portrait mode. Also new to HTC's flagship is 60 fps video at 4K resolution. There is no super slo-mo like the other guys, but there is 240fps slow motion at 1080p resolution.
In terms of performance, the U12+ brings Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 along with 6GB of RAM and at least 64GB of expandable storage. In terms of a battery, there's a 3,500 mAh one, which is a step up from the U11, but a step down from the U11+.
Of course, HTC how has its Edge Sense 2.0 which lets you "squeeze" out more functionality, so to speak. Strangely, HTC has also made its physical keys digital a-la iPhone 8 Home button. We're not totally sold on these just yet, but we'll let you know how we really feel about them by the end of this review.
Let's take a look at what's inside the box.
HTC U12+ unboxing
The U12+ comes in a flat box with rounded edges and corners. Our Translucent Blue model came in a matte white box with shiny embossed print to write out the phone's name. The back of the box has some of the phone's specifications like internal storage capacity, color, and model information.
The retail packaging of the U12+ opens to the handset sitting atop the cardboard insert. Under this insert are the included accessories with the U12: a clear glossy plastic case, a cleaning cloth, SIM tool, Quick Charge 3.0 adapter, USB cable, and USonic earbuds. If you're in the United States, you won't be getting a 3.5mm headphone jack to USB-C adapter.
Next up, we'll be taking a closer look at the hardware. We're going to check out the U12's Liquid Glass and a closer look at the digital buttons.
Design & hardware
This is the second year since HTC shook up its design style from all-metal to its Liquid Surface glass. The glass comes in three versions: Ceramic Black (not actually ceramic), Translucent Blue (actually translucent), and Flame Red. These colors are a bit more conservative than the bolder Sapphire Blue and Amazing Silver from the U11.
Many argued that the U11 had a very fragile design compared to the HTC 10's rock-solid metal chassis, and they are not wrong. The HTC U12+ brings some design changes to improve the structural integrity of the phone. There's a hard lip in the chassis and you can see this all the way around the perimeter of the display glass. The shape of the rear glass is also flatter and doesn't curve as much.
The U12+ has new pressure sensitive buttons that are more like nubs in the chassis. The positives with this new kind of key are: improved water-proofing and better structural integrity. Depending on how you look at it. Actually using these keys might be a bother to some. We'll go into more detail in the UI section.
This device feels like a taller and boxier version of the U11. The taller display bumped the capacitive buttons out and have been replaced with on-screen navigation controls while the fingerprint scanner has moved to the back. The camera is now flush with the rear glass and the camera comes with a laser sensor to assist with autofocus.
Like the U11, the U12+ has pressure sensors embedded into the phone's frame. In addition to pressure sensitivity, the frame can also detect which points of the frame are in contact with your fingers as part of Edge Sense 2.0. Let's take a closer look at the rest of the hardware.
Starting with the front, we've got a tall 6-inch Super LCD display. The screen's corners are not curved like many other manufacturers have done but we aren't complaining. The upper and lower bezels are certainly a bit larger than the Galaxy S9's and this is to make enough room for the BoomSound speakers.
HTC U12+ in-hand
Above the display is the absence of a notch in the display, and we're definitely thankful for this. To the right of the in-call receiver is a mic hole, the usual light, and proximity sensors, as well as a notification LED behind the glass. Dual 8MP selfie cameras take up the space to the left of the receiver. As mentioned earlier, there's a lip around the entire edge of the glass that joins it to the aluminum frame.
Front (display) • Forehead • Corner
There are no buttons on the left of the device - here is where the SIM/microSD card tray lives. Dual SIM models would have a hybrid slot for either a second SIM card or a microSD card. To the right are the phone's only buttons: power, volume -, and volume +.
The power key has a nice texture for telling it apart from the volume keys, however, these aren't actually buttons, they are pressure-sensitive nubs that simulate buttons and offer haptic feedback. The same pressure sensors used for Edge Sense 2.0 are used to detect which "key" is being applied with pressure. More about these keys in the UI section.
Left • Right
There's a mic at the top, and another on the bottom. Down here is also the BoomSound speaker port, and a USB-C port. There is no headphone jack, so you either have to rely on using an adapter or use the included noise-cancelling USonic Earbuds.
Top • Bottom
The actual frame looks nice on our Translucent Blue model, which has got a black matte finish. Otherwise, this is the only color option that has see-through glass. HTC first did this with the U11+ and we're happy to see something like this. It lets us peer inside and appreciate some of the inner workings of these devices that we entrust our entire digital lives with.
It doesn't quite take us back to the time in the 90s when transparent housings were all the rage, but it does put a new, more subdued twist on the trend.
Aluminum frame • translucent back
Centering the back of the phone is the HTC logo, just above the printed stripes that fade the transparent part of the glass to the non-translucence. HTC didn't make this area translucent because it figured that the battery wasn't all that interesting to look at.
Camera and fingerprint cluster
Above the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner is a dual LED flash and HTC's new dual cameras. This setup reminds us of the LG V30's (or V30+, or V30S, or V35) a little bit in the arrangement and position of the cameras and fingerprint scanner.
The U12+ has dual autofocus systems as well, the lasers are here to the left of the camera and another mic right next to the camera. The camera ring is pretty much flush with the rear glass, so no camera hump here.
Overall, a handsome looking device from HTC. Our only concerns lie in durability, particularly if the phone was to be dropped on a corner - since the front glass has that lip that goes around the entire front edge of the display.
This glass might be more likely to become damaged than the rear. Thankfully, HTC offers a glossy plastic clear case in the box that you can use until you can get a proper case - which we highly recommend you invest in.
SuperLCD 6 with HDR support
The U12+ has a 6-inch LCD display with QHD+ resolution - they actually call it Super LCD 6. This is a "glass sandwich" smartphone protected by Gorilla Glass 3 on both the front and rear. You should know that the version of Gorilla Glass doesn't necessarily mean that it is inferior. We find Gorilla Glass 3 to have our preferred balance between shatter- and scratch-resistance.
Unlike a bunch of other smartphone makers, the HTC U12+'s tall display doesn't have rounded corners around the display - they are the standard 90-degree corners. This all comes down to preference, but some believe that rounded corners rob you of pixels, while others find them more modern.
The Super LCD 6 display is HDR 10 compatible and offers a bit of color tuning. For starters, the default color profile is DCI-P3, which produces a wide color gamut. Otherwise, you can go with the less color-intensive sRGB profile. In either case, the default DCI-P3 will produce the brightest image - more on this shortly.
In terms of color accuracy, we saw an average deltaE of 5.7 with a max deltaE of 7.8. Switching to the sRGB profile produces a more accurate average of 4.7 but the max deltaE actually got slightly higher at some of the darker blue tones. The U12+ only offers a single slider for each color profile to fine tune the color temperature. We found the best results when tuning the slider 1/10th of the way towards "cool" in the sRGB setting - average detlaE was 4.4 and the max deltaE was 7.7.
We thought the display's color reproduction was quite good. The default DCI-P3 color profile (HDR 10) made whites look a bit bluer than they should be. The sRGB setting warms the whites closer to accuracy, but they are still not quite there. There are certainly more accurate displays out there, but these numbers are within acceptable deviations.
In our brightness testing, we found the HTC U12+'s max brightness to be lower than the U11's (16:9) Super LCD 5 display. The max brightness reached 366.1 nits, though, the contrast (1,830) was higher than the U11's. In direct sunlight, this display offers an ever so slight brightness boost (just over 20 nits), which likely would go unnoticed.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0 | 631 | ∞ | |
| 0.471 | 621 | 1318 | |
| 0.431 | 618 | 1434 | |
| 0.373 | 583 | 1563 | |
| 0 | 582 | ∞ | |
| 0.392 | 530 | 1352 | |
| 0.392 | 530 | 1352 | |
| 0.308 | 483 | 1568 | |
| 0 | 456 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 412 | ∞ | |
| 0.214 | 389 | 1818 | |
| 0 | 376 | ∞ | |
| 0.2 | 366 | 1830 | |
| 0.176 | 287 | 1631 | |
The minimum display brightness was pretty good. The display was able to dim down to 2.4 nits for great night-time visibility or having Smart Display active on your nightstand without being too distracting to sleep near.
Sunlight legibility, however, was rather poor. We often struggled to see the U12+'s display in direct sunlight. Overall, quite a disappointing showing, definitely one falling short of the expectations set forth by HTC's lofty "Super LCD6" moniker.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Apple iPhone X
5.013 - OnePlus 5T
4.789 - Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768 - Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658 - Samsung Galaxy S9
4.63 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
4.537 - Motorola Moto Z2 Play
4.459 - Oppo R11
4.454 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - Oppo R15 Pro
4.251 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Nokia 8
4.239 - OnePlus 3T
4.232 - Google Pixel XL
4.164 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy Note8
4.148 - Meizu Pro 7 Plus
4.147 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124 - Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei P20 Pro
4.087 - Nokia 6 (2018)
4.052 - LG V30
4.022 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 - Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
3.957 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935 - Lenovo Moto Z
3.931 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - OnePlus 5
3.914 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Motorola Moto G6 Plus
3.865 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842 - Sony Xperia XZs
3.818 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
3.812 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767 - Sony Xperia XZ1
3.765 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Nokia 8 Sirocco
3.745 - Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
3.729 - Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
3.725 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688 - Huawei P20
3.683 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Huawei Mate 9
3.68 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3.675 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - Sony Xperia XZ2
3.58 - LG G6
3.556 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - Nokia 7 plus
3.479 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Huawei P10 Plus
3.456 - HTC U Ultra
3.453 - Motorola Moto G6
3.448 - Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Motorola Moto G6 Play
3.419 - LG V20
3.402 - Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
3.397 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera
3.393 - Huawei P10
3.379 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
3.378 - Oppo R9s
3.352 - Honor 8 Pro
3.341 - Oppo F7
3.333 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Lenovo P2
3.316 - Honor 9
3.289 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Nokia 5
3.261 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
3.238 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Oppo F3 Plus
3.218 - Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19 - ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159 - Oppo R11s
3.153 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - HTC U11 Life
3.108 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - HTC U11
3.089 - HTC U12+
3.085 - Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Y2)
3.077 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
3.019 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.012 - Motorola Moto X4
3.012 - Sony Xperia L1
2.994 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - LG Q6
2.987 - Huawei P10 Lite
2.974 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Huawei P20 Lite
2.952 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Sony Xperia XA2
2.938 - Oppo Realme 1
2.932 - Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - Huawei Honor View 10
2.896 - Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Nokia 3
2.871 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Lenovo Moto M
2.813 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - Honor 10 (Vivid)
2.757 - Nokia 2
2.752 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Huawei Honor 7X
2.734 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714 - Meizu M5
2.71 - Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - vivo V7+
2.671 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654 - Oppo F5
2.653 - Doogee Mix
2.642 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635 - Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
2.616 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582 - Meizu M5s
2.58 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563 - Huawei P Smart
2.563 - Xiaomi Mi Max 2
2.561 - HTC U11+
2.556 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - BlackBerry Motion
2.494 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Meizu m3 max
2.447 - Xiaomi Mi 4
2.424 - Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
2.417 - HTC 10 evo
2.407 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Vivo V7
2.404 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Oppo F3
2.376 - vivo V5 Plus
2.371 - Meizu m1 note
2.362 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - Razer Phone
2.328 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Sony Xperia L2
2.266 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - HTC U11+ (EU)
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Meizu M5 Note
2.189 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - LG Aka
2.145 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - vivo V5
2.059 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001 - Nokia X
1.291 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Although the U12+'s display is an improvement over the U11+, we find the Super LCD 6 display to be overall dimmer than the Super LCD 5 from the regular U11. It seems that HTC went with an inferior display when it switched to taller 18:9 panels.
Otherwise, it's still a great display for viewing and editing photos. Movies and TV shows are great to watch whether you use the BoomSound speakers and even better when using the included USonic earbuds. Avoiding the sun may be a good idea.
HTC U12+ battery life
The U12+ has a slightly larger 3,500 mAh battery than the U11's 3,300 mAh pack, but smaller than the 3,930 mAh one that the U11+ launched with. It's worth noting: although the U12+ is Quick Charge 4.0 compatible, it includes a Quick Charge 3.0 adapter in the box.
HTC Sense offers a couple of battery saving modes and a power management tool for setting a battery optimization level on a per-app basis. There's a regular power save mode that restricts sync, lowers brightness, and disables vibrations and animations throughout the UI. Extreme power save mode goes even further and limits the number of apps available to the user.
Power monitor and optimization
Our battery endurance results did not fare as well as we expected but still didn't do terrible. We wanted to see battery life that rivaled the phone's predecessor but we got an overall score 10h lower than the U11. Let's take a look at what happened.
The U12+ fared a decent talk score: 21:51h, a couple more hours than the U11. Web browsing was not as good, scoring 7:48h while the U11 did almost ten-and-a-half hours. Video playback took a bit hit as well, yielding an endurance of 8:32h. The U11+ didn't do as well either but did a little better.
Had HTC gone with as big a battery as the U11+ without trying to trim the body's dimensions, it would have a more acceptable battery endurance score for a $799 handset. HTC really had to reduce the maximum brightness of its display to keep battery life in check.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the HTC U12+ for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
BoomSound speakers
HTC has a pretty legendary reputation to uphold when it comes to speakers. The U12+ definitely does not disappoint in this area. It has, at its disposal, one of the better hybrid stereo setups, we've seen lately. The amplified earpiece and bottom-firing units sound nearly identical in terms of loudness and clarity and are very well balanced.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing |
Overall score | |
| 70.2 | 74.7 | 70.0 | Good | |
| 68.9 | 74.0 | 76.2 | Very Good | |
| 68.1 | 70.1 | 81.5 | Very Good | |
| 69.2 | 72.7 | 78.4 | Very Good | |
| 68.7 | 73.0 | 79.1 | Very Good | |
| 68.4 | 74.0 | 80.1 | Very Good | |
| 66.9 | 72.3 | 84.5 | Very Good | |
| 70.1 | 73.8 | 84.2 | Excellent | |
| 76.0 | 74.6 | 79.0 | Excellent | |
| 71.1 | 72.7 | 87.7 | Excellent | |
| 71.8 | 69.2 | 91.0 | Excellent | |
| 76.0 | 73.6 | 88.5 | Excellent | |
| 82.2 | 76.1 | 86.8 | Excellent | |
| 90.6 | 73.7 | 84.0 | Excellent | |
| 77.0 | 73.8 | 99.1 | Excellent | |
| 87.3 | 72.8 | 90.8 | Excellent | |
| 91.5 | 75.4 | 90.5 | Excellent |
And speaking of volume, the U12+ has plenty of it. It gets Excellent marks in both its default Theatre and Music equalizer modes. As you can probably imagine, the former works better for voices, making for a better movie or series watching experience, by enhancing dialogue. The latter opens the soundstage quite a bit for better instrumental acoustics.
Audio Quality
Like the U11, the U12+ doesn't have a headphone jack. Rather, the included USonic earbuds offer noise-canceling out of the box. The earbuds themselves don't actually have any noise-canceling microphones.
The U12+'s four microphones perform the noise-cancelation in-device without the need for expensive external earbuds. You can always use your own pair of earbuds with a 3.5mm headphone jack, but you won't find an adapter included in the box. Also, bear in mind that the HTC U12+ won't do noise cancellation a non-HTC pair of earbuds.
HTC's USonic earbuds offer a personalization feature. A frequency signal is sent into your ear canal and just a few seconds later, your personal audio profile has been created. The calibration process even lets you hear a sample track with and without the custom tuning applied.
When hooked to an active external amplifier the HTC U12+ produced perfectly accurate output and loud output to rank as one of the better handsets in this test.
Plugging in a pair of headphones did an average amount of damage to the output - while the volume was unaffected the stereo crosstalk increased more than on some competing flagships. It’s a very solid performance still, though.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.02, -0.15 | -94.3 | 94.3 | 0.0021 | 0.0069 | -94.3 | |
| +0.18, -0.13 | -93.7 | 93.6 | 0.0024 | 0.104 | -52.7 | |
| +0.05, -0.11 | -94.1 | 94.1 | 0.0017 | 0.0067 | -94.5 | |
| +0.05, -0.02 | -93.7 | 93.8 | 0.0018 | 0.105 | -53.7 | |
| +0.44, -0.12 | -90.1 | 90.2 | 0.0056 | 0.016 | -88.7 | |
| +0.51, -0.12 | -89.8 | 89.9 | 0.0097 | 0.043 | -39.9 | |
| +0.01, -0.03 | -92.6 | 92.5 | 0.0012 | 0.0076 | -93.4 | |
| +0.03, -0.03 | -92.2 | 92.2 | 0.0017 | 0.042 | -76.3 | |
| +0.02, -0.01 | -93.2 | 93.1 | 0.0008 | 0.0069 | -94.2 | |
| +0.03, -0.02 | -92.9 | 92.9 | 0.0057 | 0.051 | -68.1 |
HTC U12+ frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Edge Sense
New to the U12+ is an updated version of the U11's squeeze feature: Edge Sense 2.0. This new version brings a couple of notable features: a third "edge" gesture is possible thanks to some new sensors in the frame that can detect the position of your fingers. Double tap either side and the default action is to shift the display into one-handed mode. Of course, you can customize this action to do whatever you'd like.
Setting up Edge Sense
The other new feature is called "Holding Gesture" and uses those hand-detection sensors to detect when you're holding the phone in your hand. If you're using a single hand, it will override the rotate feature so you can keep reading whilst lying on a couch or bed. The other feature is similar to Samsung's Smart Stay: as long as you're holding the phone in your hand, the display won't turn off - pretty neat.
Edge Sense holding gestures
You can also set an "In-app squeeze". A short-squeeze in the camera app will hit the shutter button or begin recording while a long-squeeze will flip to the front camera view.
There's a Beta feature that lets you set an in-app squeeze action within any app, but it's basically a shortcut to a single or double tap within the app so if you set a short squeeze to open the Facebook Stories camera, it won't work once you start scrolling through your feed.
In-app squeeze
Software buttons
HTC has done something totally different with the buttons on the HTC U12+. They have been completely digitized, as in - they no longer press and click like traditional buttons. Pressure sensors that are needed for Edge Sense now have a second purpose: the "buttons" on the right side of the phone are actually nubs, and when pressure is directed into one of them, you get the haptic vibration of the input that was registered.
There are a couple of reasons that HTC did this: waterproofing is easier and not actually having button cutouts in the frame makes the phone structurally superior. We'd also imagine that Edge Sense 2.0 uses beefier pressure sensors, so putting actual buttons into the frame might require more space. In its current state, however, we have to report that the benefits don't outweigh the tradeoffs.
The tradeoff is currently that customers will need undergo a short learning curve to become acquainted with these buttons. You don't need to press these all that hard, apply medium pressure in a smooth and consistent action and the feedback will come. There's not really a delay, it is more of a wink in time.
Pressing the power key is no problem, but what may frustrate users is cases where you need to press the button consecutively such as when raising or lowering the volume. Of course, you can press-hold the key but rapid-firing the volume buttons won't work as they do with literally any other phone.
One potential issue that we ran into was the Edge Sense trigger getting in the way of trying to press a digi-key. Our sensitivity was pretty moderate for Edge Sense, so it didn't actually trigger an action, but had the sensitivity been much lower, it would definitely get in the way of trying to change the volume.
Also, during our balloon test while setting up Edge Sense, we found the + volume key inadvertently registering even though hand was down in the squeezable area.
There was not really anything wrong with the current physical keys that are on billions of phones around the globe. Folks are switching phones more often nowadays and a smartphone may become obsolete after it stops receiving updates in three years anyway, so this isn't a consumer pain-point as big as, say, the headphone jack being gone.
We think this wasn't an issue that HTC needed to solve. Ironically, now HTC created a problem that it needs to solve: the company will release an update sometime during the summer that will let the user adjust the sensitivity of these digital keys.
Sense UI with Android 8.0
HTC's Sense UI has gotten leaner over the years but is still different enough to offer a unique experience versus vanilla Android. In HTC Sense, you won't find redundant apps - the default browser is Chrome, Google
There is HTC's Companion App, but it's hardly a rip-off of Google Assistant. It's a contextual application that monitors your activity and nudges suggestions and tips that might help you along your day.
For example, it may remind you to charge your phone if you don't have enough juice to make it to your dinner meeting (provided it is in your calendar). This has been around since the HTC U Ultra and hasn't changed too much since its debut.
HTC Sense Companion app
There is a new feature called Smart Display. It shows you a dashboard of information including the time, battery life, and notification icons. By default, this screen is shown to you when picking the phone up. Otherwise, you can have Smart Display be permanently on, or during a set schedule.
We found that the Smart Display didn't work very well in direct sunlight since it isn't such a bright display. If you happen to be grabbing lunch outside in broad daylight, you will likely have trouble seeing the Smart Display cluster.
The lockscreen offers handy shortcuts for quickly accessing whatever app you need. We do miss this feature from stock Android, whose lockscreen shortcuts are only the Camera or Google Assistant.
There's a nice small weather and clock widget at the top with a small icon reflecting current weather conditions, the current temperature, and of course the time.
Lockscreen
There's actually an app drawer here and there are two ways to access it. You can either tap the app grid just above the home button, or you can swipe up like you would on the Google Pixel or Samsung's launcher.
Home screen and options
HTC offers themes that also work with the default TouchPal keyboard. You can find pre-made ones or customize your own.
HTC Themer
The app drawer is well organized and reminds us of how Samsung has begun organizing its app drawer by categorizing apps into groups, therefore tidying up the app drawer. You can sort the apps by the most recently installed, alphabetically, or you can rearrange them however you like.
App drawer
Blink Feed is still here and it's just a swipe to the left of your home screen. We're not fans of unifying all feeds to a single one, but apparently some HTC users still are. There's support for many social networks, YouTube, news, and whatever else you like to consume.
Blinkfeed
The U12+ offers face unlock for quick access to your phone. As with any other conventional face unlock feature on Android, it is less secure than using a PIN, pattern, or fingerprint. Despite having two front facing cameras, the right-most camera is the only one at work.
Face unlock
The customizable navigation bar is a feature that came with the U11+. Since the latter and the U12+ now have on-screen navigation keys, there's a whole second navigation bar with various useful shortcuts like screen recording, toggling the navigation bar, accessing quick settings, and taking a screenshot. All you need to do is swipe to the left to access this second panel.
This will likely be your go-to screenshot method because the traditional way to do with on Android (holding the power and volume (-) key for a moment) is now impossible because of the digital buttons.
Nav bar: first panel • second panel
The fingerprint scanner is quite quick and reliable. If you don't have a fingerprint set up, you can still use it to take selfies in the camera app, and wake the phone from sleep.
Fingerprint scanner
Boost+ is HTC's optimizer app for clearing junk files, freeing up RAM, looking for possible battery saving settings, lock apps behind a pattern lock, and the manager apps feature is nice to delete a bunch of apps at once.
Boost+
Boost+
TouchPal is the default keyboard for HTC Sense. It works with HTC's themer so you can change its appearance when you change the theme. It also supports gesture typing and access to emojis. There are plenty of features in this keyboard but we're not big fans of HTC's emoji.
TouchPal keyboard
The Zoe Video Editor has been around for a few years and is even available to download to any Android phone. It's a super easy way to throw a bunch of video clips and photos and let it whip up a montage that looks cute for social media.
Zoe Video editor
Performance
HTC's flagship packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 CPU and pairs it with 6GB of RAM. 2018 is the year that we're finally seeing RAM break past 4GB in more flagships than before. The U11 had both a 4GB and 6GB RAM model. With the U12, 6GB comes on both 64GB and 128GB models.
The U12 is well-equipped to handle any multitasking and high-performance gaming or CPU-intensive app that you can throw at it. We testing it against other competitors in the same class. The unit we tested was a 6GB + 64GB retail unit.
In the GeekBench's multi-core test, The U12+ scored much like the other Snapdragon 845 devices, but the iPhone X's A11 Bionic still reigns atop the multi-core test. Still, the Galaxy S9+'s Exynos 8895 scored similarly to the other Qualcomm devices with a Snapdragon 845. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S led the pack, though not by too much more.
GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone X
10215 - Xiaomi Mi MIx 2S
9158 - OnePlus 6
9011 - HTC U12+
9001 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
8883 - Sony Xperia XZ2
8466 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (SD 845)
8349 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
6759 - Nokia 8 Sirocco
6725 - Huawei P20 Pro
6679 - HTC U11+
6654 - Google Pixel 2 XL
6428 - HTC U11
6393
In single-core testing, the advantage of the Exynos 8895 is more apparent when compared to its Qualcomm competitor. The U12 hangs back just behind the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S while the Galaxy S9+ hangs even further behind despite having the same CPU.
GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone X
4256 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
3771 - Xiaomi Mi MIx 2S
2468 - HTC U12+
2456 - Sony Xperia XZ2
2454 - OnePlus 6
2450 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (SD 845)
2199 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
1974 - HTC U11+
1939 - Nokia 8 Sirocco
1934 - HTC U11
1919 - Google Pixel 2 XL
1915 - Huawei P20 Pro
1907
Last year, the HTC U11 was able to get the best performance out of the Snapdragon 835 during the time it first became available. This time around, the Mi Mix 2S appears to be the one who worked the 845 to its full potential. Samsung, OnePlus, and HTC are all very close behind when it comes to the AnTuTu benchmark. Meanwhile, the Exynos-powered Galaxy S9+ lags slightly behind in overall score.
AnTuTu 7
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi MIx 2S
270814 - OnePlus 6
264200 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (SD 845)
264044 - HTC U12+
263696 - Sony Xperia XZ2
259244 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
246660 - Huawei P20 Pro
209884 - Nokia 8 Sirocco
209577 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
207072 - Google Pixel 2 XL
203119
Next up is GFXBench's on and off-screen tests. The off-screen test renders an image with FHD-resolution regardless of the actual display's resolution. This makes it easier to compare graphics performance apples-to-apples. The U12+ is right at 60 fps, while the Galaxy S9+ and Mi Mix 2S made it to 61 fps.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ (SD 845)
61 - Xiaomi Mi MIx 2S
61 - HTC U12+
60 - OnePlus 6
58 - Sony Xperia XZ2
55 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
47 - Apple iPhone X
44 - Google Pixel 2 XL
42 - HTC U11
41 - Huawei P20 Pro
40 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
40 - HTC U11+
35 - Nokia 8 Sirocco
34
Things change for the on-screen portion of the graphics testing. Both the OnePlus 6 and Mi Mix 2S, as well as the Xperia XZ2 all have resolutions of FHD or FHD+ so they have an advantage over those with QHD resolutions or higher. The U12+ is well down the list because of its QHD+ resolution.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 6
55 - Xiaomi Mi MIx 2S
55 - Sony Xperia XZ2
51 - Apple iPhone X
51 - Huawei P20 Pro
37 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
37 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (SD 845)
34 - HTC U12+
33 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
24 - HTC U11+
21 - Google Pixel 2 XL
21 - HTC U11
19 - Nokia 8 Sirocco
18
We have no complaints with the performance of the HTC U12+. Sense UI is quite well optimized and doesn't bog down Android since it is lean and snappy. Even running a benchmark repeatedly didn't slow down the U12+ as the all glass and metal build does a good job of dissipating heat from the phone's interior. The U12+ performed in line with other Snapdragon 845 devices, as it is expected.
The dual camera is back on HTC
Although HTC's flagship went from having two cameras on the U11 to four on the U12, it isn't the first HTC flagship to have a dual camera setup. The HTC One M8 had a separate depth sensor for adjusting focus after taking the shot. It even offered a not-so-convincing artificial blur-effect.
This is the first time HTC has put a dual camera on its flagship since 2014 on the HTC One M8. This is also the first time that HTC puts a dual front-facing camera on its flagship for taking selfies with artificial bokeh.
The two main cameras are comprised of a 12MP wide camera with f/1.75 aperture and a 16MP camera with a telephoto lens and an aperture of f/2.6. This second camera, of course, brings artificial bokeh and 2x optical zoom to the HTC Camera experience. For some reason, it would only shoot 12MP photos despite its higher native resolution. The front-camera also gets artificial bokeh selfies despite having neither OIS nor autofocus.
The camera UI has shortcuts for the video camera and portrait modes along with a beauty toggle, resolution chooser, flash, and HDR Boost. Additional camera modes are in the menu drawer and include Panorama, Pro, Video, Hyperlapse, and slow-motion.
Camera UI: Photo • Video • Selfie • Settings
Pro mode gives you control to white balance, ISO up to 800, shutter speed up to 32 seconds, and focus control. You can even save three sets of custom manual controls for using again at a later time. We are also glad that the camera app offers a dedicated video viewfinder.
Like the U11 and U11+ did, the U12+ uses image stacking to process an image with HDR Boost with both the front and the rear cameras. We do believe that one of the cameras benefit from HDR Boost while the other does not.
Here are some camera samples. Photos are generally warm in color temperature while details are excellent. Dynamic range is great and colors are true to life. This camera does offer a RAW shooting mode when you switch to the Pro for total control over the images you want to edit.
Something we have noticed, however, is that the camera is quite dependent on HDR Boost. Just keep in mind if you leave HDR Boost on at all times, you may encounter some blurring of people or objects that are in motion.
HTC U12+ camera samples
There's a distinct texture that appears in these blurry people, but it's only noticeable when you really zoom in. There's also a strangely distinct texture within the phone's organic bokeh. In pictures that are more close-up, you can see the natural f/1.75 bokeh of the camera.
What it looks like is happening is the post-image software is trying to reduce noise within the bokeh. This seems to happen more when the camera sees an organic bokeh and HDR Boost is enabled. Otherwise, photos with a much deeper bokeh like the image of the little white daisy flower don't appear as processed.
HDR Boost: Off • On • Off • On
HDR Boost: Off* On *Off • On
HDR Boost works quite well and can really brighten darker areas or suppress highlights from blowing out the image. Dynamic range does appear to struggle in scenes where there's a lot of light in the sky behind the subject.
HDR Boost does improve the imbalance, but if you'd rather not trust the camera for really drastic dynamic range shots, set the exposure manually by tapping on a focal point and sliding the exposure up or down.
Now that the U12 has a dual camera, we can now perform 2X optical zoom while taking pictures or videos. 2X zoom works well in photos, but there is some more noticeable noise in the image, particularly in lower-light conditions.
Zoom: 1X • 2X • 1X • 2X
Zoom: 1X • 2X • 1X • 2X
In low-light, the HTC U12 does quite well, particularly when shooting with HDR Boost. Naturally, moving objects are far more prone to blurring in these lower-light conditions. If your scene is static, you can get some very nice-looking night-time photos with the U12+.
Low light shots
The last sample above is a low-light selfie. This low-light selfie doesn't look amazing, but it doesn't look half-bad either.
Portrait mode
The U12+'s second camera allows it to take portrait style "Bokeh" photos. These are best captured when the subject is between 50 and 200 cm (between about 20 inches and 6.5 feet).
Indoor Bokeh: Auto • Manual • Auto • Manual
We found that photos taken with the Bokeh mode contain a bit lower amount of details when taking Bokeh shots indoors. We got the best results outdoors with our subject well-lit in direct sunlight. We also saw that Bokeh images taken indoors had more resolved detail within closer range.
Outdoor Bokeh: Auto
You can see how the HTC U12+ stacks up against competitors in our photo compare tool. The library is pretty extensive.
HTC U12+ (12MP) vs. HTC U11+ (12MP) vs. Huawei P20 (12MP) in our Photo compare tool
Here is a link for the telephoto camera as well. Just a reminder, it actually shoots at 12MP, and the phone will only let us use it under good lighting conditions. Hence, the low-light samples are actually from the main snapper.
HTC U12+ Tele (12MP) vs. Apple iPhone X Tele (12MP) vs. Samsung Galaxy S9+ Tele (12MP) in our Photo compare tool
Selfie camera
The front-facing cameras are not bad. Selfies come out a bit soft though. Details aren't the best of any other front camera out there, but direct sunlight definitely helped us get the best out of this one.
Something to keep in mind is that HDR Boost is best used in brighter lighting conditions. It does a good job of bringing highlights down to an acceptable level. If you were to take the same kind of Bokeh selfies outside in the late-afternoon on an overcast day, you'll find that HDR Boost actually doesn't work in favor of the image. It still tries to bring down the highlights, even though they don't need to be, resulting in an image with darker tones and unnecessary contrast.
Selfie HDR: Off • On • Off • On
In the next two selfies, you can see an example of when HDR Boost doesn't work in the image's favor.
Selfie HDR Boost: Off • On
The general consensus with HDR Boost that is that it can be set to Auto with the main cameras, but the front-facing camera should use it in overly-bright lighting conditions.
The selfie camera already softens facial features, so the contrast between the artificial blur and the softened subject doesn't make for a very stunning combination. Also, like the main cameras, the Bokeh selfies reduce the amount of resolved detail compared to non-Bokeh'd snaps.
Bokeh selfies
Overall, we found the U12's front-facing camera to be a bit too soft in most lighting conditions. Selfies taken in bright sunlight will appear sharper than any resulting indoor photo. Otherwise, colors look a bit muted compared to the shots we took with the main cameras. The actual Bokeh is just okay when looking at the boundaries around our selfies up close. The shots look nice, but these selfies won't win any awards.
Beauty mode has several adjustments: smoothness, brightness, face width, and eye size. We took some with the auto setting but found it to be too much for our taste. We prefer to use very mild beauty mode if any.
Beauty mode: Off • Low • Auto
Here's a group selfie taken by the U12. We do wish it was shot without HDR Boost as you can tell that this photo's shadows are a bit exaggerated.
Group selfie with HDR Boost
Panorama
The U12+ can take panorama images in portrait or landscape orientation. Resolved details look pretty good, but vertical resolution is lost when you sweep the phone parallel to the scene. You should flip the phone to a vertical orientation. The horizontal panorama has a height of 1,524 px while the vertically oriented panorama we took was 3038 px in height.
Panorama 1
Panorama 2
Sonic Zoom and Audio Boost in video recording
The U12+ has HTC's Sonic Zoom feature, formerly known as Acoustic Focus in the U11. What this does is zooms in on the subject that's directly in front of the camera by suppressing surrounding noise. It does this with the four microphones outfitted around the phone. We found that it worked fairly well, but won't work well in windy environments.
While Sonic Zoom isn't all that new, Audio Boost is. It does the same thing that Sonic Zoom does only without actually zooming into the video. The feature works to reduce ambient noise and focus audio on the subject in front of the camera.
There is a dedicated video viewfinder, which we do appreciate. There are plenty of shooting modes including 4K video recording at 60fps and slow-motion video recording of 1080p footage at 240 fps. Aside from Audio Boost and Sonic Zoom, there are a couple of other audio recording modes: 3D Audio and Hi-Res. 3D audio is the default audio and records two channels with "virtual" surround sound thanks to the four pickup microphones. Hi-Res audio records in the FLAC codec into the MKV video format.
This video format is not a one or the more widely used ones, so the chance that you'll run into playback compatibility issues is quite high. You may need to download a third-party video player like VLC.
The U12+ produced excellent video samples of New York City traffic. Aside from some noise in one of the buildings behind the road, we didn't find the U12+ really hunting for focus as we've seen other phones do. HTC did a great job with the autofocus.
60fps video is smooth as butter and details are top-notch. We're glad that HTC was able to make a device that can shoot 4K at 60 frames per second.
1080p samples look just as good in the lesser resolution. Keep in mind that the 1080p mode will offer both optical and electronic image stabilization while 4K can only be stabilized with OIS.
For those of you who want to pixel peep on your own computers, we've uploaded short samples straight out of the phone (2160/60fps, 2160p/30fps, 1080p/60fps, 1080p/30fps).
Though, there are a couple of things worth mentioning when it comes to the video viewfinder. While taking our video samples for our comparison tool, we discovered a bug: it seems that the video viewfinder is feeding from one camera while the actual video is being captured with another one.
If we want to be technical, this caused a vertical displacement of the video image so the precision of the viewfinder was only slightly off. Also, this only appears to happen when taking video in full HD-res. Fret not; this should be easy to fix with a future software update.
You can do some pixel-peeping on video stills as well, using our extensive comparison database.
2160p: HTC U12+ vs. the OnePlus 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S9+ in our Video compare tool
Naturally, we are including telephoto samples into the mix as well. Again, we remind you that the U12+ only elects to use its secondary camera when the light is abundant. A lot of the noise in low-light can thus be attributed to digital zoom.
2160p: HTC U12+ Tele vs. Apple iPhone X Tele and the Samsung Galaxy S9+ Tele in our Video compare tool
And just for the sake of thoroughness, here are the 1080p versions of the same sample shots, as well.
1080p: HTC U12+ vs. the OnePlus 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S9+ in our Video compare tool
1080p: HTC U12+ Tele vs. Apple iPhone 8 Plus Tele and the Samsung Galaxy S9+ Tele in our Video compare tool
Competition
The HTC U12+ finds itself in a very difficult and critical price range: $799. At this cost, there is not much room for compromise or cutting corners. There are very compelling devices in this price bracket and the HTC U12+ has a lot to prove.
In no particular order, let's take a look at some competitors starting with the LG G7 ThinQ. Although it has a notched display, it has a much brighter one with excellent sunlight legibility and carries a similar sticker price as the U12+. Also consider the more versatile camera, complete with pro-level video controls with audio gain. Finally, don't forget about the G7's wide-angle camera.
Samsung's Galaxy S9+ offers an all-around excellent software, hardware, and camera experience that all performs well and is easily worth its price. The Galaxy S9+ might be too much phone for some folks, but those who choose the Galaxy S9+ realize they are making a solid choice.
If the U12+'s price has you on the fence, the OnePlus 6 offers a very compelling smartphone package for a much lower price. OnePlus has proven that a young smartphone startup does know how to properly tune a camera and this camera experience surely holds a candle to the U12+'s. Pair that with the latest processor and up to 8GB of RAM for a smooth and lag-free Android experience.
LG G7 ThinQ • Samsung Galaxy S9+ • OnePlus 6
If you're looking for the holy grail of cameras, consider the Huawei P20 Pro. Its camera is a triple-threat (quite literally) to other phones. It can do black & white photos, 3X and 5X zoom, 40MP images, and hand-held low-light shooting with impressive results. It has a large battery and runs Huawei's EMUI, which is a heavily skinned but also well-optimized variant of Android.
The Pixel 2XL is a bit older by now, but offers the very best Android Experience directly from Google. You won't get the extensive customization for shortcuts that Edge Sense offers, but Active Edge's shortcut solely for Google Assistant isn't terrible. There's no dual camera but Google's software-based portrait mode has proven in the past that you don't need a second camera to get great-looking Bokeh.
Huawei P20 Pro • Google Pixel 2 XL
Pros
- Attractive Liquid Surface glass
- Loud and clear BoomSound speakers
- Noise cancelling earbuds are great
- Excellent camera quality with bonus video features (Sonic Zoom, Hi-Res Audio)
- Edge Sense 2.0 has potential
Cons
- High price point
- Digital keys not well-executed
- Bokeh mode needs refining
- 3.5 mm headphone jack not included in US
Verdict
Without a doubt, the U12+ has an excellent camera and nice-looking hardware design. Last year, we loved the HTC U11 for its great battery life, excellent camera, and attractive dual-glass design. Unfortunately, we can't say we're in love with the U12+ for these same reasons.
We can't help but shake our heads at the curve ball that HTC threw at us. While the digital keys aren't a totally horrible idea, we find that HTC didn't execute it well. Taking a screenshot has now become impossible by the default keys.
The cameras perform very well in the traditional shooting modes, but falls a short of excellence in Bokeh modes. At this price point, a such artificial Bokeh modes need to be more than "good enough".
The U12+ is $150 higher than its predecessor's starting price, so $799. Considering that the US market will not be getting HTC's 2018 flagship in carrier stores, buying the phone outright will be a tough pill to swallow.
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