While HTC revealed its new U series smartphone, HTC U Ultra earlier last month in the international market, it was still awaited in the markets like India. The HTC U Ultra, was accompanied by HTC U Play, which is an affordable variant of the smartphone. While up till now we vaguely knew that the smartphone will be launched in India sometime next week, a press invite that we have received today from HTC has now confirmed the exact date of release. HTC is holding the ‘for U event’ in New Delhi on February 21 to launch the HTC U Ultra.
While the invite only talks about the launch of HTC U Ultra, we are expecting the launch of the U Play at the event as well. During its launch abroad the HTC U Ultra was showcased in multiple color variants like Blue, Black and a Cosmetic Pink, we can’t tell for sure if all these color options would make it to India as well.
If we talk about the high point of the new HTC U Ultra, it would definitely be its 3D glass design, and the fact that it is equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning. Called HTC Sense Companion, the feature is basically an AI personal assistant on the device, which uses machine learning to make the device more personal, somewhat like Google Assistant. It also uses data from the cloud to further enhance user experience with alerts and notifications.
On the other hand, the affordable variant, the HTC U Play boasts a smaller display size, yet offers most of the best features of U Ultra at a lower price.
The HTC U Ultra was launched in the US market for a price of $749, which approximately translates to Rs 51,000. While this is just an estimate of which price segment would the device fall in, the exact price tag will only be revealed at the event.
HTC U Ultra specifications and features
In terms of design, the smartphone comes in a metal and glass unibody design. It features a 5.7-inch Super LCD 5 display offering 2560×1440 pixel resolution with Gorilla Glass 5 or sapphire glass on top. It further features a secondary display offering 160×1040 resolution. The secondary display is powered by HTC’s new Sense Companion AI platform. The secondary display on the U Ultra shows companion alerts in small, intuitive and discreet ways. Over time, as the platform learns user behaviour, the alerts will show what interests you more and push down those which are not that relevant.
Under the hood, the HTC U Ultra is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It further comes with support for expandable storage up to 128GB via microSD card. In terms of photography, the smartphone comes with a 12-megapixel UltraPixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture with Optical Image Stabilization. The HTC U Ultra is also selfie-focused as it features a 16-megapixel front camera with UltraPixel mode.
On the software front, the smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat with HTC Sense UI on top. Connectivity options include Type-C support, fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. Keeping the smartphone running is a 3,000mAh battery that comes with support for Quick Charge 3.0.
The HTC U Ultra further comes with voice-enabled search support. It includes four ‘always-on’ microphones which listen to voice commands and also aid in unlocking the device. Additionally, it can be used to record 3D immersive audio. The HTC U Sonic earphones supplied with the smartphone make use of sonar based audio technology that boosts sound output by reducing external noises.
HTC U Play specifications and features
The HTC U Play is a smaller variant, without a secondary display. It comes with a 5.2-inch Super LCD display offering 1080p resolution. It is further protected by Gorilla Glass on top. Under the hood, MediaTek Helio octa-core processor is paired with 3GB/4GB of RAM with storage choices of 32GB or 64GB on-board. It also comes with support for microSD card for storage expansion.
For photography, the smartphone features a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture with OIS. For selfies, there is a 16-megapixel front camera with UltraPixel mode. On the software front, the smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat with HTC Sense UI on top. The HTC U Play draws its juice from a 2,500mAh battery with fast charging technology. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and NFC. It further comes with a fingerprint sensor.
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