HTC U11+: Release date, price and specs of HTC's plus-size 'squeezable' smartphone

HTC has unveiled a new plus-sized version of its squeezable smartphone, known as the HTC U11+, featuring a 6-inch display, gigantic battery, and elongated body.

Like the HTC U11 , which launched in May, the U11+, gives users a new way to interact with their device beyond just tapping the screen.

The edges of the device are pressure-sensitive, allowing you to squeeze to access notifications and launch certain applications from the home or lock screen.

Here's everything you need to know about HTC's new top-of-the-range device.

Design

Like the HTC U11, the U11+ has an all-glass body that is slightly curved - inspired by the surface tension on water droplets. This gives it an attractive glossy appearance, but does means it picks up fingerprints easily.

The U11+ is longer and slimmer than the U11, measuring 158.5 x 74.9 x 8.5 mm and weighing 188g.

(Image: HTC)

The home button at the bottom of the screen has been removed in favour of a digital navigation bar, and the fingerprint reader is now positioned on the back of the device.

The rest of the buttons and ports are positioned on the narrow metal band that runs around the outside of the phone and binds the two glass panels together.

Like the HTC U11, it doesn't have a headphone jack, but ships with a set of HTC USonic earphones, which plug into the USB-C charging port. There's also an adaptor in the box, so you can continue using you old headphones if you prefer.

The HTC U11+ comes in three colours - Ceramic Black, Amazing Silver, and Translucent Black. Only the Ceramic Black version will be available in the UK.

Read More Display

The HTC U11+ has a 6-inch display with a 18:9 aspect ratio, putting it on a par with the Apple iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

The display is extremely sharp, with bright and vivid colours, and it stretches almost to the edges of the phone, with only extremely narrow bezels around the edge.

Edge sense

The HTC U11+'s stand-out feature is its Edge Sense technology, which allows you to squeeze the phone to launch apps without having to touch the screen.

For example, you can squeeze to launch the camera, and then squeeze again to snap a shot, or you can squeeze to launch HTC's Voice to Text service, which allows you to dictate text messages when your hands are full.

You can also squeeze from the lock screen to launch Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa without unlocking your phone.

Short squeezes and long squeezes can be programmed to perform different tasks, and the edge sensors can also be configured to match the sensitivity of the user's grip.

As well as being a fun new way to interact with your phone, Edge Sense is particularly useful if it's raining, if you have wet hands or if you're wearing gloves.

Read More Specs

The HTC U11+ has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip. There are two storage options - 128GB and 64GB, and they come with 6GB and 4GB RAM respectively.

It is also possible to expand the memory up to 256 GB using a microSD card.

It has a whopping 3,930mAh battery, which HTC claims offers up to 25 hours of talk time, and comes with Quick Charge 3.0 technology for fast charging.

It comes in single and dual SIM options, and features contactless NFC technology for use with Android Pay.

(Image: HTC) Camera

The phone features a 12MP rear camera with phase detection autofocus, optical image stabilisation, and HDR Boost technology, which gives you high dynamic range photographs without any lag.

The camera, which HTC claims is even better than the award-winning camera on the U11, is capable of 4K video recording, as well as slow-motion video at 120 frames per second.

An interesting feature called 3D audio ties audio recording levels to the zoom function on the camera, so you can visually zoom in to target your subject and amplify their specific sounds.

The HTC U11+ also features an 8MP selfie camera that incorporates the same powerful HDR Boost and noise reduction technology as in the main camera.

Read More Software

HTC U11+ runs the latest version of Android - Android 8.0 Oreo - so it includes Google's artificially intelligent voice assistant, Google Assistant .

However, Google is not the only AI voice assistant available on the HTC U11+. It also offers access to Amazon's personal assistant Alexa , so it can integrate with any Amazon Echo devices in your home.

The two personal assistants can be used individually or in combination, according to HTC.

Audio

The U11+ comes with HTC BoomSound Hi-Fi Edition speakers for solid, well-rounded sound out of the phone.

It also ships with HTC's USonic headphones with active noise cancellation, which continuously monitor environmental sound levels and adjusts to any new noises or disturbances.

The earphones supposedly use a sonar-like pulse and tiny microphones to analyse the inside of your ears, as well as the noise levels around you, and adjust the sound levels to suit your hearing.

Price and release date

The HTC U11+ will cost £699. That's £50 more than the HTC U11, but significantly cheaper than both the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple iPhone X.

It will be available in Ceramic Black in the UK, and can be pre-ordered at www.htc.com from 20 November.

Source: HTC U11+: Release date, price and specs of HTC's plus-size 'squeezable' smartphone