Your complete review guide to HTC U12+ smartphone

HTC U 12+ is the new smartphone with great cameras, fast and smooth performance and beautiful design. The phone uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor, paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. Bucking the trend of phones like the HTC-produced Google Pixel 2, microSD card expansion is built into the HTC U12+, with support for up to 2TB of additional storage via the usual route of a Dual SIM card slot where the second slot can either be used for a secondary network or additional storage, but not both.

The phone design

The HTC U12+ is quite similar in looks with the HTC U11, and is more slender with easily held casing. Unique thing is there are no buttons on the HTC U12+ whatsoever. Everything is handled via haptic feedback, so while there are areas to tap for power and volume and so on, you’re actually not pressing a physical button. They look like physical buttons, but they don’t actually move when you press them. They’re like the faux haptic home button on the iOS iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 devices. So  HTC isn’t the first to go down this route. Apple phones with home buttons haven’t had “buttons” for a few generations now, but HTC is the first to take it to this particular extreme.

Full specifications of HTC U12 +

The U12+ is as fast as any other 2018 Android flagship. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage expandable up to 2TB via microSD card, and a 3,500 mAh battery. The phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo with HTC’s own Sense skin. The display is good with Super LCD 6 panel and a crispy 2,880 x 1,440 resolution, wide color gamut, and HDR 10 support. But it’s no OLED screen.

As in the HTC U11, the HTC U12+ features HTC’s “Edge Sense” squeezable capability with new features. You can now use double tap gestures to launch applications, and unlike the Pixel phones, everything is customisable to your choice of functions, not just a quick way to get Google Assistant up and running.

HTC has a strong pedigree in the audio space as well, and the HTC U12+ will feature its “Boomsound” speakers with separate woofers and tweeters at each end of the phone for better audio separation. It’s also built with high-resolution audio support onboard, and a set of headphones are bundled. Following the current trend, however, the HTC U12+ does not feature a headphone socket, with the supplied headphones connecting via USB C instead.

There’s no headphone jack on the phone but you do get a pair of USonic USB-C wired earbuds that come with active noise cancellation, which are much better than the iPhone’s pack-in EarPods.

On the back, just below the camera, is your typical fingerprint sensor. It works as well as any other. The U12+ also supports Face Unlock, though no different from the face recognition on other Android phones.

The U12+ also comes with Edge Sense 2, the second generation of the squeezable side tech that debuted on the U11.  You can still squeeze the phone to launch an app, shortcut, or the Google Assistant or Alexa. But you can also double tap the sides to activate a number of shortcuts; by default the touch feature shrinks the homescreen for easier one-handed use.

Also the edges know when you’re holding them. So if you’re holding the phone in landscape for, say, playing a pokies game, it can auto lock to = that orientation and same for holding the phone in portrait mode.

Also the HTC U12+ is even more water resistant than its predecessor, with an IP68 rating compared to the IP67 rating of its predecessor. It’s easy to manage that when you remove physical buttons because it reduces the areas where water might find ingress into your handset.

HTC U12+ Cameras

The U11 had one of the best cameras. On the back, there’s your now typical dual-camera setup. The main camera is a wide-angle 12-megapixel shooter with f/1.7 aperture and the secondary camera is a 16-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.6 aperture. You get optical image stabilization and electronic stabilization as well for smoother shots and video.

The U12+ has twin cameras on the front, too. Both front-facing cameras have 8-megapixels with f/2.0 aperture. The second camera is there just for assisting portrait mode photos.

Both the front and rear cameras take fantastic photos. They’re not as contrasty as shots from the Pixel 2, but shots are sharp, have good dynamic range, and aren’t oversaturated. The camera’s also fast to launch, autofocus, and shoot.  Like many flagship phones, the U12+ can shoot portrait-style photos  HTC calls it “Bokeh mode” — with blurred backgrounds with both the back and front cameras.

The HTC U12+ costs for $1,199 outright in Australia. You can buy this phone from any HTC store or with your mobile carrier.