We’ve had a sneak peek of HTC’s U Series at CES 2017 just last month, and now HTC has launched both the HTC U Play and HT U Ultra here in Malaysia. Gone is the old naming convention, now HTC has rebrand its flagships as a U series instead, to embody its new slogan “It’s all about U”.
The HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play sports a new type of design which is a little different from what we see in the market. The corners are curved gently and sports a unique way of reflecting light, giving it a holographic-type of colour, inspired by the shimmering reflection of the water surface.
HTC has also upgraded its HTC Sense UI to a new HTC Sense Companion that apparently learns, responds and listens to your lifestyle habits. The HTC Sense Companion is somewhat like a personal AI companion that has the ability to provide smart suggestions based on your lifestyle and external information. So, what it can do is recommend things like what you should wear for the day based on the weather, or remind you to charge at optimal times so your phone won’t run out of juice.
Using its voice recognition system, the HTC U series is able to unlock your device, take or reject incoming calls, snooze or dismiss an alarm, send messages and even start a hands-free navigation, as it works hand-in-hand with Google Now. Now, if you are an audiophile, you will appreciate HTC’s all-new HTC USonic earphones that actually adapts to your hearing pattern by analysing your inner ears with a sonic pulse to optimise the headset for you, giving you your music the way you like it. However, HTC has omitted the audio jack in its design of its U Series devices, so you need to use the same charging port or a Bluetooth headset to listen to music.
The HTC U Ultra features an always-on second screen located at the top of the device, that allows you the convenience to access what you use most – your favourite contacts, app shortcuts, event notifications and more, all accessible with a swipe and a tap.
What are the specs? Well, the HTC U Ultra is a 5.7-inch phablet that is fitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. As for the HTC U Play, it sports a smaller 5.2-inch display, and features a MediaTek Helio P10 processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Both models of the U Series supports microSD storage up to 2TB with Flex Storage.
As for their camera capabilites, the HTC U Ultra has a 12MP HTC UltraPixel 2 rear camera, while the HTC U Play sports a 15MP HTC UltraPixel rear camera. Both devices features a 16MP UltraPixel front camera, although the HTC U Ultra has more features such as 4K video recording, Slow motion 120fps video recording, just to name a few.
The HTC U Ultra comes in Brilliant Black, Cosmetic Pink, and Sapphire Blue, and priced at RM2,999 while the HTC U Play comes in Black Oil and Iceberg White and priced at RM1,899. The HTC U Ultra will be available from early March onwards, while the HTC U Play from end of March onwards at all official retail outlets and partnered online stores.
Here’s a little hands-on video at the launch event.
