HTC U Play preview: Mid-range specs, but plenty bling

HTC has made an early move on its 2017 updates, launching a new set of devices under the U name. The U Play is the smaller of the pair, sitting in the shadow of the larger U Ultra, but offering a similar design and build.

The U aspect is easily explained away: these are phones designed to be more personal, to get to know you and to better serve your needs. That might just be marketing spiel, but the HTC U Play succeeds in being an attractive mid-range handset.

HTC U Play preview: Design and build

• Glass body with liquid surface design
• 145.99 x 72.9 x 7.99mm, 145g

One of the things that HTC is best known for is creativity in design of its phones. There have been examples of great attention to detail, the use of some materials and finishes to create unique phones. In many ways, the U Play is an example of HTC doing that once again.

The U Play is a glass sandwich with a metal core, but uses a design that HTC is referring to as liquid surface. This uses the properties of glass to create depth to the glossy finish, giving unique colours and reflections that change the way this phone looks as the light hits it.

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That’s not something you get from metals or plastics, even with the wide range of techniques being used today. The result looks like the precision paintwork of something like a McLaren sports car, with depth to the bodywork. It’s a softer design than some of HTC’s metal finishes of the past few years and it moves away from the mass of metal phones coming from Apple, OnePlus, Huawei and others. 

There’s a downside, of course, and that’s fingerprints. They smear all over this glossy phone, but they wipe away easily; equally, for all the precision – it’s very well put together – some will probably just think it’s glossy plastic.

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The U Play is available in four colours – black, white, blue and pink – although as we said, each changes as it catches the light. The black sometimes looks green, the white has a pearlescent iridescence, it’s all very unique.

We think the larger U Ultra looks better though. There’s just something about the increased size that brings out the effect more dramatically, but these are two very different phones, with very different specs.

• HTC U Ultra preview: Premium phablet packed with power

The HTC U Play nestles comfortably in the hand, measuring 145.99 x 72.9 x 7.99mm and weighing 145g. The layout is conventional HTC, and little different to recent One devices. There’s a fingerprint scanner to the front, also acting as the home button and there’s no 3.5mm headphone socket, which we’ll talk about later. 

HTC U Play preview: Display and hardware

• 5.2-inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 423ppi
• MediaTek Helio P10, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage + microSD

Keeping to a more compact form, the U Play has a 5.2-inch display. This has a Full HD resolution, which is the first indicator you’ll get that this is a mid-range phone. The 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, 423ppi, display looks nice enough, and is a reasonable resolution. Even at this size, you’ll get sharp visuals, although it’s not as precise in fine details as some flagship devices at this size.

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HTC hasn’t said as much about this panel as it has on the U Ultra (which is 2560 x 1440 pixels). Although it’s named as a Super LCD, we suspect this is an older generation of panel, as it doesn’t look as vibrant and punchy as the Super LCD 5 panel on the U Ultra. Again, that’s probably a move to put this device in the mid-range, and unlikely to bother you too much.

Still, we haven’t had the chance to spend a lot of time with this phone, so there’s a lot of conditions we’ve not tested the display in.

Moving on to the other hardware specs, the U Play continues that mid-range story, opting for a MediaTek Helio P10 chipset and 3GB RAM, with 32GB storage. There’s support for microSD cards, but again this is a step down from the U Ultra sibling it launches alongside. 

• HTC U Ultra vs U Play: What’s the difference?

Exactly how this handset will perform in the real world we don’t yet know. We suspect that given the size and positioning, this will happily skip through daily tasks smoothly enough with little bother, but it’s not quite the star that the bigger model is.

We mentioned that there’s no 3.5mm headphone socket, instead you’ll be using the USB Type-C on the bottom of the phone. This also charges the 2500mAh battery. That’s a fairly low capacity for a phone of this size, probably a move made to hit that skinny waistline. 

HTC U Play: Software designed to know you

• Android Nougat with HTC Sense
• Google Assistant included
• HTC Sense Companion app 

HTC Sense has always been about you. When Android was an awkward mess, HTC Sense made it approachable, personal, and all about you and your life. Android in its native state might now be very refined, and HTC Sense scaling back to let Nougat shine through, but HTC still wants to make this phone all about knowing you.

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Not only will the U Play offer Google Assistant, allowing you to talk to your phone as you can with the Google Pixel, but it will also offer the HTC Sense Companion app. This is designed to bring your device closer to you, learning about how you use your phone and helping with things like battery and storage management, right through to restaurant suggestions or finding your favourite contacts first.

For example, if you use your phone on the way to work and on the way home routinely, it learns this. If you happen to indulge your Pokemon Go habit in the middle of the day, meaning you might not have enough battery to get home, the HTC Sense Companion will identify this and suggest action – like engage power saving now, rather than when you’re down to the last 20 per cent. 

This should extend through to things like alarms and weather, ultimately aiming to make the phone more useful all the time. Rather than just alerting you, it wants to be smartly alerting you.

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Of course, this is something impossible to experience without living with the phone, so we have no idea how HTC’s personal play will really work, something we’ll assess closer to launch. 

HTC U Play preview: Cameras

• 16-megapixel rear camera with OIS
• 16-megapixel front camera with UltraPixel mode 

HTC liked the HTC 10 camera so much that it stuffed that in the U Ultra and even though the U Play has a higher megapixel count, it’s not expected to be such a strong performer. Still, it’s a 16-megapixel sensor with optical image stabilisation and nice features like auto HDR, but it limits itself to 1080p video capture – no 4K playtime here. 

The front camera is also 16-megapixels which is a huge resolution, and seems to be HTC’s new thing. That should give you plenty of detail, but the interesting thing is that it offers an UltraPixel mode. This combines pixels in clusters, aiming to give you better low light results by lowering the resolution. 

This should cut out the noise, but until we’ve tested it, we can’t say how effective any of it will be.

HTC U Play preview: Audio

• No 3.5mm headphone socket
• Good quality USonic headphones included

HTC has made a lot of noise about audio recently, with BoomSound getting plenty of accolades. The U Play misses out on BoomSound, however, and there’s no mention of the Hi-Res skills we’ve seen appearing on a number of other handsets.

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That might seem a little odd, when it carries the name Play – you’d think that something like stonking audio support would be high on the list for inclusion. 

They do come with HTC’s smart USB Type-C headphones however. Not only are these headphones better sounding than many you’ll get bundled with your handset, but they will also tune themselves to your ears. This creates a unique sound profile for you and can be adapted when you’re in a different place with a quick tap – for example when getting on a plane. 

First Impressions

The HTC U Play is an attractive and (relatively) small handset by modern standards. The design is the star of the show, giving you something that’s unique and unlike so many other phones out there. 

The question is whether this will be offered in a package with that slightly lower tier specification at a price that will be tempting. While some will probably stretch to buy the U Ultra, the U Play is likely to fall into that category of facing a lot of competition. 

The U Play is due to hit shelves around mid-February and pricing is still to be announced.

HTC U Ultra preview: Premium phablet packed with power

HTC has made the unusual move of announcing a new family of devices, carrying the name U. The logic is simple enough to follow, they are designed to be all about you and advance the connection between you and your device, for a more symbiotic relationship. 

It’s marketing, sure, dressing up the latest developments in HTC’s smartphones, but forging into a new, large device space at the same time. The HTC U isn’t HTC’s 2017 flagship – that’s still to come – but this is a premium and powerful device none the less.

Launched alongside a smaller mid-range sibling the HTC U Play, the HTC U Ultra is a refreshing start to 2017. 

HTC U Ultra preview: Design

• Glass front and back with wonderful colour finishes
• No 3.5mm headphone socket
• 162.41 x 79.79 x 7.99mm, 170g 

The HTC U Ultra is probably the biggest departure for HTC design we’ve seen in recent years. Stepping away from metal, it attacks the sub-flagship space with something a little more unique. Although we’ve seen glass bodies before – from the iPhone no less – this U family from HTC is rather more ambitious.

HTC is calling the effect “liquid surface”. Rather than the hard metal precision of the HTC One family, the U Ultra looks as though it has a liquid finish. The back appears to flow into the edges, for a smooth rounded result.

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Visually, the U Ultra has a beautiful finish. With four colours on offer – white, black, blue and pink – there’s depth to the colour effect, very much like finish of a premium sports car. The surface seems to shimmer, reflecting the light and changing the colour hints you get as you look at it.

We like that a lot, but there’s no avoiding the fact that it will attract fingerprints like nothing you’ve ever seen before. That said, it won’t just look grubby like some devices do, it will wipe clean in a flash and look brilliant when you set it down on the table. 

There’s a chance, however, that some will think it looks like glossy plastic. The Honor 8 recreated a similar effect in plastic and although the HTC U Ultra looks better and higher quality, we’re not sure how it will wear. HTC says that glass was chosen for its resistance and durability – and there’s a clear plastic cover in the box to keep things looking ship shape.

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While the front and back are glass, there’s a familiar metal core anodised in matching colours forming the centre of this glass sandwich, in which sit the buttons, card trays and USB Type-C connection. There is no 3.5mm headphone socket, which seems to be the trend.

The HTC U Ultra measures 162.41 x 79.79 x 7.99mm, so it’s pretty slim, the soft curves meaning that this 5.7-inch device feels a good size in the hand. 

HTC U Ultra preview: Two displays are better than one

• Super LCD 5, 5.7-inch, 2560 x 1440 pixels, 515ppi
• Secondary 2.05-inch 160 x 1040 pixel display

HTC has taken a leaf right out of LG’s playbook, offering a dual display setup like the LG V20. The main display is a huge 5.7-inches, with a crisp Quad HD resolution. This might not be HTC’s 2017 flagship, but the company is going about making is a pretty stacked smartphone.

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First impressions of the display are good. It appears to be bright and vibrant and is topped with Gorilla Glass 5 to keep it protected, with a premium sapphire glass special edition in the works too – which also benefits from 128GB storage. 

We found the colours and vibrancy to be good, but we’ve not nearly spent enough time with this handset to fully assess its performance in this early preview. It’s an Super LCD 5 panel – the same type as the HTC 10 – and we like that, although we’d say the Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s AMOLED display was still our favourite.

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The second display is interesting however. Unique to the HTC U Ultra – it’s not on the U Play – this display can serve up important information in a way that doesn’t interfere with whatever you might be doing. Don’t want those notifications appearing over the top of the game you’re playing? That’s what this display is designed for. 

There’s a range of features it offers, such as weather, app shortcuts, contact shortcuts, reminders and calendar notifications, with the ability to swipe between them. It’s only a 2.05-inch long strip, so in some cases, it misses out on the ability to do anything useful other than let you see this information. Our first impression is that because it’s not going to be big enough to give you Android Nougat’s excellent quick reply function, it sort of misses the point.

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Exactly how it will behave in day-to-day use we can’t say, but there’s a feeling it might be a little like Samsung’s Edge Display. With the HTC U Ultra sitting in the same sort of spec space as the Galaxy Note 7, this second display fulfils that role too. 

HTC U Ultra: Pixel-bothering power

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage + microSD
• USB Type-C, 3000mAh battery

The U Ultra might not be HTC’s flagship, but it comes with one of Qualcomm’s latest chipsets, the Snapdragon 821, and 4GB of RAM. We’ve seen this loadout on the Google Pixel and we have to say it flies: we’d expect the U Ultra to do the same, with plenty of power for gaming, entertainment and other tasks. 

With HTC positioning this as sub-flagship, that’s a big hint that HTC’s 2017 flagship will get itself the Snapdragon 835 – but that’s a different story.

• HTC Ocean: What’s the story on HTC 11? 

There’s 64GB of storage as standard, with microSD supported, including Android’s adoptable storage function to seamlessly integrate that storage. We mentioned a sapphire glass special edition U Ultra too: this will get 128GB of storage, aping the sort of special edition handsets we’ve seen Huawei making.

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Of course battery life will play a huge part in the success of this device and battery optimisation is something that HTC has paid some additional attention to, to try and eek as much out life from the 3000mAh battery. That’s not a huge cell on this size of device: the Pixel XL is 3450mAh, the Mate 9 is 4000mAh, so battery life could be this phone’s weakness. 

HTC U Ultra preview: HTC Sense Companion 

• Smart assistant features for device control
• Android Nougat with HTC Sense
• Google Assistant included

Looking to expand on the sort of functions that were handled by the Boost+ app previously, HTC has a new app, called Sense Companion. This is where the U Ultra wants to be all about you, by learning things about you and managing the phone to reflect your lifestyle and usage. 

At a basic level, it will do things like manage your storage, memory and apps, but take things a little further in how it interacts with you. For example the phone will learn how you use the power and your usage patterns and then make suggestions to make sure you don’t get caught short. Although we’ve not had the chance to see this in action, HTC told us that it was design to ensure, for example, that you have enough power for your journey home – perhaps reminding you to charge the phone in the middle of the day so that you’re ready for that.

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Rather than just giving you the weather, Sense Companion is designed to alert you to the changing weather. If it’s been sunny for a week, but a storm is coming, it will tell you that. Other smart examples include asking if you want your regular alarm to go off on public holidays or suggesting the type of restaurants you typically eat in, rather than just offering you everything locally. 

The aim, according to HTC, is to create a device that’s more about you. Where we’ve seen lots of personalisation in the UI from HTC in the past, this is really about giving you a smarter phone companion.

Otherwise, the software loadout appears to be a fairly typical Nougat with HTC Sense version, so not much different to the HTC 10 or other recent devices. The device that we’ve spent time with isn’t on the final software build, however, so we’ve not had the chance to test all these functions. Neither did it have an operating version of Google Assistant, something that HTC said would be available on the HTC U Ultra when it launches.

HTC U Ultra preview: Cameras

• 12-megapixel rear camera, 1.55µm pixels, f/1.8, OIS, PDAF + laser
• 16-megapixel front camera, with UltraPixel mode

HTC was so happy with the performance of the HTC 10’s camera, that it’s used the same sensor in the U Ultra. That’s no bad thing, as the HTC 10 had the best camera that we’ve seen on an HTC device for a while.

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It offers large pixels designed for better low-light shooting, it has a wide aperture, optical image stabilisation, as well as phase detection autofocus and laser focusing. The downside of many of HTC’s cameras hasn’t necessarily been the hardware specs, it’s what happens to the photos once you press the button. 

We’ve not seen any photos, although the camera seemed fast and responsive in our initial play with it – something to be examined in more detail closer to launch.

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The front camera is quite a big departure, with a 16-megapixel selfie camera. This is a huge resolution, so it should be able to capture a lot of detail, but offers a special UltraPixel mode for low light capture. This mode is said to combine pixels, using a collection of four pixels in the space of one, aiming to make better use of low light situations. How it works, remains to be seen.

HTC U Ultra preview: Audio prowess, with a catch 

• No 3.5mm headphone socket
• USB Type-C USonic headphones included
• Hi-Res certified
• BoomSound Hi-Fi edition 

As per the Moto Z and the iPhone 7, HTC has removed the 3.5mm headphone socket from the U Ultra. We suspect that sets a precedent for the rest of time on this level of device. It’s not a huge deal, unless you really want to keep using your existing expensive headphones, but HTC is bundling its USonic headphones in the box. 

These are the same headphones that came with the HTC 10 Evo/Bolt and they’re better than average in-ear headphones that come with phones. They also have a trick in that they’ll scan and adapt the sound profile to suit your ear, and then update that profile if you’re in a different environment.

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For example, when you get on a plane, you can tap the icon and update the sound profile to cancel out the background noise. It’s clever and works well.

BoomSound speakers now appear to be gone, but we’ve had good experiences with BoomSound Hi-Fi edition on the past few HTC phones and there’s no reason to think that this might be any different.

First Impressions

The HTC U Ultra sets out to present something different. From a design point of view, it does. The finish is different to this level of phone from HTC in the past, losing the hard metals for a softer, luscious, glass finish. The colours are eye-catching too, although we suspect some might take it for plastic, and not give it its due. 

We’d expect this hardware load-out to sing too, delivering a performance that’s very much like the HTC 10. It’s a continuation in many senses, but that may also be a problem. For all the refinement to audio, the stripping down of bloatware to get you closer to Android some might ask why you’d choose this phone over the Pixel XL – which comes with the huge advantage of being first in line for software updates. 

That fate mostly rests in the handset of HTC’s new Sense Companion and it’s difficult to judge this aspect of the phone without living with it for some time. 

The HTC U Ultra is due to land in Europe in mid-February. Pricing is to be confirmed, but we’d expect it to be in a premium price bracket. 

We like the U Ultra. It’s a refreshing device for those who might have become bored with HTC’s metal devices, but it needs to come in cheaper than the Pixel XL.

• Mobile World Congress 2017: Smartphones, smartphones, smartphones to expect

HTC U Ultra and U Play official: Unique designs, very different specs

HTC has confirmed its first big launches of 2017, with the reveal of a new family of devices, called U.

The HTC U Ultra and the HTC U Play make up the pair of devices and in fitting with the name, HTC says that these devices are designed to be closer to you, to get to know you and to become better smartphone companions. 

This is thanks to HTC Sense Companion, an app that gets to know you, managing your phone in a more personal way. It will, for example, aim to manage your battery use to reflect your daily patterns, make smart suggestions about your alarms if you’ve left them set during a national holiday and so on.

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Aiming to differentiate, Sense Companion plans to go above and beyond Google Assistant – also offered on these phones – to create a symbiotic relationship between you and your phone. 

Marketing and positioning aside, it’s the U Ultra that’s the star of the show. Although the U Ultra isn’t HTC’s 2017 flagship, the specs are very much at top level, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, with microSD. Then there’s the 5.7-inch Quad HD display, supported by a second ticker display for notifications. That’s Pixel XL-beating specs

Around the back there’s a 12-megapixel camera with OIS and laser focusing, and a massive 16-megapixel front camera.

• HTC U Ultra preview: Premium phablet packed with power

The HTC U Play takes things down a step, with a 5.2-inch Full HD display and powered by a MediaTek Helio P10 chipset with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. The smaller device also misses out on that second display, so although it’s fairly well equipped, it’s a different device.

There’s a change to the camera too, with a lesser 16-megapixel camera with smaller pixels and missing out on laser focusing. It too has a 16-megapixel front camera. 

• HTC U Play preview: Mid-range specs, but it’s quite the stunner

What both devices share is a luscious design that’s a real departure for HTC. Called liquid surface, the U phones are a glass sandwich, but with colour and depth to the back like you’ve never seen before. It’s a real premium finish and although it will need a regular wipe, both devices look great.

The HTC U Ultra and U Play will be available in the UK around mid-February, coming in white, black, blue and pink, prices are still to be confirmed.

• Mobile World Congress 2017: Smartphones, smartphones, smartphones to expect

LG G6 confirmed for February reveal, possible features teased

LG has released a teaser video on YouTube entitled “Wish list for the ideal smartphone”, which we can safely assume relates to the upcoming G6 flagship. While it can be considered a teaser video, it ends with “February, 2017”, confirming we’ll see the new phone next month. However, it doesn’t specifically say we’ll see it at Mobile World Congress, something The Korea Herald has said will be the case.

• LG G6: What’s the story so far?
• Mobile World Congress 2017: Smartphones, smartphones, smartphones to expect

In LG’s teaser video, we see several people in America speaking to camera to say what features they’d most want out of the “ideal smartphone”. Features asked for include a big screen for multitasking, all while having a small body to make it easy to use with one hand. The people in the video also ask for the phone to be waterproof and more reliable so they don’t have to worry about the screen cracking all the time. All those features then move into a smartphone-shaped box, followed by the text “Imagine how your wishes will come to life”.

We’ve already heard and reported on several rumours that relate to the majority of these wants. The screen has been confirmed by LG to be a 5.7-inch Quad HD+ with an 18:9 aspect ratio. It uses proprietary in-Touch technology that allows LG to reduce the bezel size, so it will be a big screen but on a small phone.

We haven’t heard anything concrete on the LG G6’s waterproof capabilities, but it’s been confirmed by LG that the company will not be using modules for the upcoming flagship. The LG G5 arrived with various modules such as a camera and a high-quality DAC for improving audio quality. While it was seen as an innovative idea, in reality the G5 didn’t really prove popular with consumers. LG has said it has listened to customer feedback and will not be releasing modules with the G6 but will instead focus on aesthetic and usability.

• LG confirms the G6 smartphone will have no modules
• LG G6 will launch before the Galaxy S8 to capitalise on Samsung’s downfall
• LG G6 to use the “world’s first QHD+ screen with 18:9 aspect ratio”

We’ll have to wait until its February reveal to see exactly how LG will implement these features, but we now have a clearer idea of what to expect next month. 

Android Wear 2.0 will finally arrive in early February

Smartwatches might have failed to take over the world last year, but Google will still make good of its promise to release Android Wear 2.0 in Q1 2017. According to a letter addressed to developers and published by Android Police, the long-awaited update to its wearable platform will finally arrive in early February. It was supposed to roll out in late 2016, but Mountain View decided to release a couple of developer previews first. The letter warns developers that Wear 2.0’s on-watch Play Store won’t show apps that aren’t optimized for the platform, so they need to tweak their applications ASAP. Wear 2.0 will also support standalone apps that don’t need phones to work.

While the letter didn’t mention it, Android Wear 2.0 is expected to launch with a couple of new smartwatches. They won’t be Google-branded devices like the Pixel, but they’ll serve as the company’s flagship products in the smartwatch space. If Google goes through with its plan, we’ll see both the platform and the wearables in a few weeks’ time.

[Image credit: Android Police]

Source: Android Police

HTC’s ‘U Ultra’ flagship phone pairs AI with a secondary screen

Last year, HTC’s flagship 10 smartphone won plenty of accolades — we liked it because the company bucked the gimmicks and built a no-nonsense device that was excellent in its own right. With a new year comes a new flagship, though, and this time HTC is taking a very different approach. Meet the HTC U Ultra, a peculiar little machine that’ll feel at least a little familiar to fans of other high-end smartphones.

When we say “familiar,” though, we’re not talking about the phone’s design and materials. In fact, the U Ultra’s look is unlike any in recent memory. Some of HTC’s usual design flourishes, like the pill-shaped fingerprint sensor and the centered UltraPixel camera are still here, but designers traded the usual aluminum look for a finish that looks almost liquid. The frame is still made of metal but the back is covered in a beautiful curved glass that looks almost pearlescent under the right light. It’s a gorgeous effect born from HTC’s obsession with material science that plays well on all four U Ultra colors (black, white, blue and pink). And beyond all that, it feels pretty lovely in-hand too, though it helps that the U Ultra is a terribly sleek device — it’s just under 8mm at its thickest.

While you might notice those finishes first, it’s the screen that makes the U Ultra feel so much like an LG phone. Well, the second screen, to be more precise — it sits above the Ultra’s 5.7-inch Quad HD Super LCD 5 screen just like it did on the V10 and V20. Sure enough, you’ll be able to add shortcuts to apps and get weather readouts, but HTC is counting on artificial intelligence to actually make that second screen useful. On devices like the V20, for instance, notifications just appear as events occur, ultimately leading to a list sorted by time rather than importance.

Not so on the U Ultra. It’ll only display notifications from people it thinks you want to hear from, though that requires some initial setup. Darren Sng, HTC’s head of global product marketing, laid out situations where the phone would try to be proactive, too. Let’s say there’s rain in the forecast today — the so-called Sense Companion will warn you on that second screen before you leave the house. And if a holiday rolls around and you don’t have any pressing issues in your calendar, the assistant will shut off previously set alarms. (That last one sounds a little dicey to me, but we’ll have to wait and see how well this works over time.)

Those machine learning smarts extend beyond just the second screen, by the way. Like with Huawei’s Mate 9, the phone will attempt to suss out the underlying patterns in how we use our phones and allocate resources or shut down services in response. And just like basically everything else at CES (where HTC quietly showed off the new phone), you can talk to it through an array of microphones. Look closely enough at the U Ultra and you’ll spot 4 of them dotting the body — they’re always on and always listening for your voice within a range of about two meters.

Of course, playing with a phone like this for 45 minutes can only reveal so much. It’ll take time for the true value of HTC’s approach to AI to become apparent, but at least the Ultra itself seems to run like a charm. My usual routine of scrolling through lots of websites, launching lots of apps and switching between them all willy-nilly couldn’t throw the Snapdragon 821 (with 4GB of RAM) for a loop, and all of Android 7.0 Nougat’s niceties are ready and waiting for you. There’s a 12-UltraPixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization on the Ultra’s rear — it seemed to take crisp, nicely exposed photos in our Vegas demo room — but the front-facing camera technically snaps selfies at an even higher resolution. It’s a 16-megapixel sensor with what Sng calls an “UltraPixel mode” that presumably resamples that extra image data into a better photo, but the results weren’t really apparent in our brief round of testing.

Oh, and get this: HTC ditched the headphone jack too, so you’ll have to use some USB Type-C headphones. Despite what Apple said months ago, it feels like it takes a certain degree of courage to leave the standard headphone jack alone these days. At least you can augment the phone with more storage. You’ll be able to choose from 64 or 128GB variants right out of the gate, and while the latter has sapphire glass covering the screen instead of Gorilla Glass 5, both will take microSD cards as large as 2TB.

For those who don’t need a secondary screen, or even just a phone that big, there’s the HTC U Play. It takes the same style and AI chops and pairs them with a smaller body and a more manageable 5.2-inch 1080p display. As you’ve probably already figured out, this smaller variant is also a little less impressive — it packs one of MediaTek’s octa-core Helio P10 chipset and ships with either 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The main camera has been knocked down to 16-megapixels (none of that UltraPixel business here), too, though we’re currently not sure what how much less these models will cost than the flagship U Ultra.

I’ll admit to be being a little confused when I first met these two phones. Sure, HTC always had a peculiar sense of self as a company, but it seemed like the progress made with the 10 would ensure some logical, safe upgrades when it came time to craft a sequel. That’s definitely not what we’re looking at here — HTC is done playing it safe, and the Ultra doesn’t feel a lick like an HTC 11. More curious is HTC’s assertion that just having a second screen by itself doesn’t really help users much. I’d have to agree with that — after having used the V20 for a while, LG’s implementation just felt like a way to offload notifications and highlight a few extra controls. It was enough for some people, but the V20’s additional screen never felt all that useful. By making it a sort of home for a virtual assistant, HTC might have found the second screen’s ideal purpose.

There are still plenty of questions that need answers, but HTC certainly look a leap into new territory with these two devices. The biggest? Whether the U Ultra and U Play managed to transcend gimmickry and fit all these components together into something new and valuable. We’ll get cracking on our full review once HTC sends along some review units, but until then, you can pre-order the U Ultra from the company’s website starting today.

Samsung and LG could launch foldable phones later this year

We might soon be able to buy actual foldable phones after years of looking at one concept after another. According to The Korea Herald, Samsung and LG are planning to launch bendable phones later this year. Samsung reportedly began working on a phone that folds out and turns into a 7-inch tablet in August, and it’s expected to roll out over 100,000 units in the third quarter. It apparently wasn’t a big challenge for the company, since it already previously developed a fold-in phone technology.

The publication says the company still isn’t 100 percent sure that it’s releasing the device this year due to marketability and profitability issues, though. Considering its mobile division still hasn’t bounced back to its former glory after the Galaxy Note 7 disaster, the Korean conglomerate likely doesn’t want to take any chances. The source says Samsung will make a decision after a personnel reshuffle of its IT and mobile divisions.

LG is reportedly planning to roll out 100,000 foldable devices in the fourth quarter, as well. It probably has a bigger chance of seeing that plan through since it’s been working on its fold-out technology for two to three years. However, the company could use its technology to develop components for clients like Huawei and Apple instead of releasing its own products. Either way, it sounds like we’re getting closer to seeing foldable gadgets on the market, so you may want to keep an eye out for official announcements.

Via: VentureBeat, XDA Developers

Source: Korea Herald

‘The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth’ Finally Comes to iOS Devices

Popular roguelike shooter The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is finally available on iOS devices. The highly-anticipated game was originally supposed to come out in early 2016, but its dark themes caused it to be rejected by Apple.

Based on a Flash game first released in 2012, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has been available on Macs, PCs, and consoles since 2014. The game was inspired by a biblical tale, and the main character, Isaac, escapes from his evil mother and battles through a series of procedurally generated dungeons.

Gameplay wise, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a dual stick shooter with virtual controls and support for Made for iPhone game controllers. The game features more than 500 hours of gameplay, over 450 items to find, two-player local co-op, 20 challenge runs, and more.

The Binding of Isaac is a randomly generated action RPG shooter with heavy Rogue-like elements. Following Isaac on his journey players will find bizarre treasures that change Isaac’s form giving him super human abilities and enabling him to fight off droves of mysterious creatures, discover secrets and fight his way to safety.

Our sister site TouchArcade shared some tidbits on The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth this morning, noting that an Apple TV version of the game is coming in the future. The iOS version and Apple TV versions of the game will be the same, so gamers who purchase it today will later be able to play it on the Apple TV.

In regard to the $14.99 price tag, the game’s developer, Tyrone Rodriguez, says there will be no pricing fluctuations or sales. “The price will not change, a month from now or a year from now,” he said.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth can be downloaded from the App Store for $14.99. [Direct Link]
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Latest Axon 7 Mini update brings VoLTE to more users, December security patch, and camera tweaks

Latest update brings a slew of features to the Axon 7 Mini.

Good news for those of you who recently nabbed an Axon 7 Mini. ZTE has announced a maintenance release for the device, namely a software update that will add VoLTE, Google security patches up to December, and camera enhancements. ZTE says that there are three different builds out right now and the one you have installed will affect the update you receive. For instance, those who were on build B16 have already received their VoLTE update through T-Mobile.

Here are the release notes for the three builds.

B12-B21 Release:

• Support T-Mobile HD Voice call (VoLTE)
• Google security patches updated through December
• New APN added to match all major North American carriers
• Google Applications updated
• Enhanced and optimized camera focus speed and night mode
• Other general enhancements

B14MR2-B21 & B16-B21 Release:

• Google security patches updated through December
• New APN added to match all major North American carriers
• Other general enhancements

ZTE suggests that the phone is charged over 30 percent before you install the software update. The builds will go live on January 12 at 2 a.m. EST.

LG G6 teaser reveals large screen, compact body, and water resistance

LG’s 2017 flagship will make its debut next month.

LG is slated to unveil the LG G6 next month at Mobile World Congress, and the company is starting to slowly trickle out information regarding the device ahead of its debut. In a teaser video, LG asks people to share their wish list for an ideal smartphone, and the replies include a big screen that’s easy to use one-handed, water resistance, reliability, and a great camera. Unsurprisingly, the LG G6 will have all of those attributes.

LG has already mentioned that it will not bring back the modular design for the LG G6, and the phone is expected to feature a 5.7-inch “QHD+” LCD display with a resolution of 2880×1440. The handset will also likely retain a dual camera arrangement with a wide-angle lens complementing the primary shooter. With the launch just over a month away, we’ll know more about what’s in store with the LG G6 shortly. What are you most excited about?