Boom goes the squidgyphone
IT WAS inevitable that with the iPhone X launching tomorrow, at least one company was going to try and scupper it with a launch.
HTC is the culprit, and the phones are two new versions of the HTC 11 squidyphone .
The HTC U11+ offers a bigger screen (6 inch to be precise) with an 18:9 aspect ratio which is becoming the ratio of choice amongst phone makers. It has a 3,930mAh battery, which pretty huge and we’re interested to see how that affects that weight, notable by its absence from our spec list.
The Edge launcher has been updated with notifications and apps, with an eye to one-handed, and there’s a glass back that doesn’t prevent the squidgy-squidgy side squeeze to access Google Assistant (or Alexa or Cortana, it’s not fussy).
It also has 30 per cent louder Boom Sound (the EU won’t be happy) USonic Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds, IP68 waterproofing and as you’d hope it comes with Android Oreo.
Meanwhile, the HTC U11 Life is the company’s first dabble in the entry/developing market Android One canon of lower powered but full function devices.
It still includes Edge Sense, a 16MP camera on front and back, with HDR on the main camera and UltraPixel light sensitivity for selfies.
It has IP67 certification (not quite as good as the other one) and shares the glass back and USonic active noise cancelling earbuds from the big one.
The main difference here is the lower powered Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, but the lower power comes with the advantage of even longer predicted life between charges, 2 hours more wifi web browsing against the HTC 10 for example.
The HTC U11 Plus comes in Ceramic Black (just call it black, sheesh) and will retail at £699 when it goes on sale on the 20th November. No official word yet from carriers.
The HTC U11 Life will be on sale in the UK, as the latest in a growing number of Android One handsets to reach the Western market. It will be available in (Brilliant) Black and (Sapphire Blue) to preorder from today for £349.
It’s not known if it will share the screen technology from the HTC made Pixel 2 XL which is causing all kinds of problems for users. µ
