It’s the beginning of smartphone season again, and we’re getting the first glimpses of a number of next-gen flagship smartphones. The other week LG revealed the LG G7 ThinQ. And this week HTC revealed the HTC U12 Plus, a pretty exciting smartphone for HTC- and Android-enthusiasts because it builds upon everything that was good about last year’s well-reviewed U11 Plus.
The U12 Plus has a better screen-to-body ratio, so it feels smaller but looks bigger. It has a newer and faster processor and supports HDR (better video contrast). And it also features the next generation of its squeezable-sides technology, Edge Sense 2.0. As before, you can squeeze the phone to launch apps, shortcuts and your virtual assistant, but now the U12 has more sensitive side sensors making it easier to squeeze one-handed.
The big difference, however, is with the cameras — the U12 Plus has front and rear dual-camera systems. Its rear-facing system has 12-megapixel wide-angle lens along with a 16-megapixel telephoto lens, offering up to 2x optical zoom. And it has dual 8-megapixel front-facing lens, allowing it to capture more bokeh-rich selfies and unlock the phone by looking at it, like Face ID.
Like the U11 Plus, the U12 Plus features USB-C and wireless charging, 1P68 dust-and-water resistance, and a number of different RAM and storage options. It’s not a smartphone that’ll likely convince any Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy enthusiast to switch over, but it’s a nice step for those who’ve been loyal to HTC a while. The U12 Plus is available for pre-order now in blue for $799 (64GB) and $849 (128GB). The black model is also available for $799 (64GB only).
Key Specs
Display: 6-inch Super LCD 6
Resolution: Quad HD+ (2880 x 1440 pixels, 18:9)
Processor: Snapdragon 845
Rear-Camera: 12-megapixel wide-angle (ƒ/1.75), 16-megapixel telephoto (ƒ/2.6)
Front-Camera: Dual 8-megapixel (ƒ/2.0)
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