HTC has just announced two new smartphones, the HTC U11 Plus and HTC U11 Life. Both of these phones have been heavily rumored and leaked in the last couple of days, even a hands-on video of the two phones surfaced yesterday. Having said that, these two phones are considerably different one from the other, the HTC U11 Plus is the company’s new flagship, while the HTC U11 Life is the company’s very first ‘Android One’ smartphone, which essentially means that it is a part of Google’s Android One project, it comes with stock Android, though a regular version of the phone with HTC Sense UI has also been announced.
Let’s kick things off with the HTC U11 Plus, shall we. This smartphone is made out of metal and glass, while it sports a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, and a relatively thin set of bezels on its front side. The HTC U11 Plus is not a small handset, though its thin bezels definitely help to keep its footprint at bay. The HTC U11 Plus also comes with HTC’s ‘Edge Sense’, which is a feature that lets you squeeze the phone in order to make the phone do something, like launching the camera, for example. The HTC U11 Plus comes with a 6-inch QHD+ (2880 x 1440) display which supports HD10, and which is protected by the Gorilla Glass 5. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core SoC fuels this smartphone, while the phone packs in 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of expandable storage, respectively, depending on the region. Now, in terms of its cameras, you’ll find a 12.2-megapixel UltraPixel 3 camera (f/1.7 aperture) on the back of the HTC U11 Plus, while a single 8-megapixel snapper (f/2.0 aperture) is included on the front side of this phone. The HTC U11 Plus also comes with a 3,930mAh non-removable battery, which supports Quick Charge 3.0 tech. HTC’s BoomSound speakers are also included here, and Android 8.0 Oreo comes out of the box with HTC’s Sense UI.
The HTC U11 Life, on the other hand, is a mid-range phone, and it also comes with ‘Edge Sense’. The device is made out of metal, and it comes with a set of capacitive keys below its display. The front-facing fingerprint scanner is included here, and the device is fueled by the Snapdragon 630 64-bit octa-core SoC, one of Qualcomm’s mid-range chips. The HTC U11 Life sports a 5.2-inch fullHD display, while it comes with 3GB and 4GB RAM variants. Both variants will be available in a number of countries out there, while the 3GB RAM model only will ship to North America, says HTC. Those two RAM models come with 32GB and 64GB of expandable storage, respectively, and a 2,600mAh non-removable battery is also a part of this package. A 16-megapixel snapper is included on both the phone’s front and back sides, while Android 7.1 Nougat will come pre-installed on the phone in North America (version with HTC Sense), and Android 8.0 Oreo in other markets (stock Android), though HTC did mention that Oreo is coming to North American models in December.
The HTC U11 Life goes on sale in the US starting today for $349 / $449 CAD, and you can buy it over at HTC.com. The phone will also be available in T-Mobile stores and T-Mobile.com starting on November 3. The Android One variant of the phone goes up for pre-order in the UK today for £349, and you can get it from HTC’s official website. The HTC U11 Plus, on the other hand, will become available in the UK from November 20 for £699, though US availability for the HTC U11 Plus was not announced.
