What is it about the HTC U11 that makes you want leave your flagship?

[Mike Dee]

What is about the U11 that makes you want to leave your current flagship phone? Is there something really great that it does or do you just like to jump phones on a regular basis?

 

[Aquila]

I was really interested in trying out the squeeze thing and hearing about it's camera is pretty exciting, though I have to admit I probably can't tell the difference between the top 10 or even 20 cameras.

 

[cert15z]

U11 is more likely to get timely updates, less app duplication and it is unlocked and still able to use T-MO's WiFi calling.

 

[James E1]

The U11 has the best LCD screen ever put on a smartphone and I like LCD over AMOLED. The blacks are actually black but that has never bothered me. One of the best if not the best audio systems in an Android. Camera is far superior to anything else available and hamdir from XDA is doing a test to show how good it is if you need to crop or zoom. I'm waiting to see that. HTC build quality. Less bloatware and duplicate apps. I like the fingerprint scanner on the front and capacitive buttons over on screen buttons. HTC sense give it just enough that it's not boring like vanilla Android but don't overdo it like some other manufacturers. It's faster and smoother than all the rest. You can do heavy gaming at 2k for over an hour and never drop below 60 frames per second. I really like the looks of it and the aspect ratio is what it should be until there is a true reason to change to different ratio because of having to stretch, zoom or deal with the black bars. I'm a fan of HTC and no matter how hard I try to like other phones HTC keeps pulling me back.

 

[Mike Dee]

I was really interested in trying out the squeeze thing and hearing about it's camera is pretty exciting, though I have to admit I probably can't tell the difference between the top 10 or even 20 cameras.

I think most of the cameras in these phones are pretty good but I leave it to my dedicated cameras to do the real work when I need it. Cameras in a smart phone are not my priority except I'm hooked on the dual camera setup that the industry seems to focus (no Pun intended) on.

 

[Mike Dee]

The U11 has the best LCD screen ever put on a smartphone and I like LCD over AMOLED. The blacks are actually black but that has never bothered me. One of the best if not the best audio systems in an Android. Camera is far superior to anything else available and hamdir from XDA is doing a test to show how good it is if you need to crop or zoom. I'm waiting to see that. HTC build quality. Less bloatware and duplicate apps. I like the fingerprint scanner on the front and capacitive buttons over on screen buttons. HTC sense give it just enough that it's not boring like vanilla Android but don't overdo it like some other manufacturers. It's faster and smoother than all the rest. You can do heavy gaming at 2k for over an hour and never drop below 60 frames per second. I really like the looks of it and the aspect ratio is what it should be until there is a true reason to change to different ratio because of having to stretch, zoom or deal with the black bars. I'm a fan of HTC and no matter how hard I try to like other phones HTC keeps pulling me back.

I too am a fan of LCD but it seems like everyone is caving into Amoled.
Not sure how I feel about the new aspect ratios.

 

[Morty2264]

There are a few reasons as to why I will (eventually, because I love it) leave my Honor 8 for the U11:

- I've always wanted an HTC product and the specs on the U11 make it more appealing for my usage than others in the past

- when I get a new phone, I like to switch manufacturers to get a new learning experience and so I can see which brand I like best overall. So far I've tried Nexus/Google, LG, and Honor/Huawei. I'd love to try HTC next.

- I like owning and using something "different" and not necessarily a run-of-the-mill product that everyone else has; and so the U11 is a good choice

- although it's $900 in Canada, it's still quite a bit cheaper than other comparable flagships

So those are some of my reasons. And I'm also rationalising this future purchase.

 

[Matty]

The U11 has the best LCD screen ever put on a smartphone and I like LCD over AMOLED.

I think a + 1 is needed here

HTC use a new type of LCD called 'Super LCD'. Which does look fantastic and obviously means no screen burn in if you decide to use the device for many years to come. The only thing I wish HTC did was put a slightly bigger battery in, otherwise it's got "buy me" written all over it

 

[Bruce_Wayne8887]

Coming from my pixel xl, water resistance, better audio, headphone and external speakers. Those ones mostly. I actually prefer LCD to amoled also so theres that.

 

[coronaboy10]

For me its a departure from their standard metal which i loved. But i do love that they've done a redesign and are trying something new. I love the colors. The upgraded storage. The newer cpu. I'm trying to hold out for the Solar Red. I love that they've included a whole bunch of accessories in the box! That and of course, the CAMERA.....This is HTC's IT moment to me. They have beaten Sammy's flagship in something other than design finally, imo. I also love that I will be able to buy this on Amazon and get expedited shipping. Oh, and they're shiney! Oh, i forgot the SOUND, i watched a video comparison with the HTC 10 and the U11 and I was sold.

 

[anon(9918034)]

The ability to unlock the bootloader and root the phone, with out losing the warranty. The great community behind the HTC custom ROMs. I seriously miss being able to tinker with the back end of the phone with out fear of losing all support from HTC.

 

[kgbkny]

My last Android phone was the HTC M8 - I switched to iPhone when the iPhone 6 was released. After a year and a half with the 6, I traded it in towards the 6s Plus, which I've been using since and have had a mostly positive experience with iOS.

What made me decide to go back to Android? For starters, I'm bored with iOS. It feels like I've been using the same exact phone for the past 3 years. The operating system has maintained the same look since iOS 7 and there isn't much that I can do in way of customization. There's also the persistent rumor of the iPhone's next iteration (iPhone 8?) having a $1,000 price tag, which is an astronomical price to pay for ANY device that I will keep for 12-18 months. That, in and of itself, is a major deciding factor.

Why U11? The build quality (HTC rivals Apple in this department), Sense, presumably the best smartphone camera available (this is an extremely important feature to me), top of the line specs and, after applying the discount code, a $600 price tag.

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

Coming from an HTC 10, mostly, just the fact that I've had every new HTC flagship since the One X+. I still have the M8 and M9. The M9 is used as a remote and a camera that my 4 year old takes tons of videos and pics on.

 

[Bart Rutherford]

I really loved the M7 but wasn't impressed with M8, so I moved on to an Iphone 6S to finally try one. This is the phone I have patiently waited for HTC to build. The HTC U11 has a beautiful design with top notch specs and camera improvements. I cannot wait for my pre-order to arrive.

 

[Eggmundo]

Damn y'all are tempting me bad...

 

[Da_Katz_Pajamas]

I had the 10 and sold it for the s8+ because of water resistance, amoled, and the cool design. However now I'm selling my s8+ because it's screen is really fragile at the curves, the audio is lame, and the Bluetooth connection in my car isn't like how it was in my 10. My 10 would autoplay my music from whatever app I was using last. My s8+ does like 60% of the time.

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

I had the 10 and sold it for the s8+ because of water resistance, amoled, and the cool design. However now I'm selling my s8+ because it's screen is really fragile at the curves, the audio is lame, and the Bluetooth connection in my car isn't like how it was in my 10. My 10 would autoplay my music from whatever app I was using last. My s8+ does like 60% of the time.

HTCs just work. It's why I've always bought HTC(Inspire 4G, One X+, M7, M9 and 10). I've strayed only once, but I couldn't pay $700 for a Galaxy S6e to have a phone just for the camera. Everything else, as far as the user experience goes was just effing awful. Took it back and grabbed the M9. The camera wasn't as good but dammit, they just work.

 

[Eggmundo]

The iPhones of the Android world?
OK, that'd probably be the Pixel or Nexus phones, but you get my point

 

[mwake4goten]

Can someone explain to me how the audio experience will be better especially as there is no 3.5mm headphone jack..? Sound will be via Bluetooth with uses compression technology, how will that be better for wannabe audiophiles like me?

 

[Stevenmc8602]

Can someone explain to me how the audio experience will be better especially as there is no 3.5mm headphone jack..? Sound will be via Bluetooth with uses compression technology, how will that be better for wannabe audiophiles like me?

It's gonna be one of those things you are gonna have to hear and judge for yourself... There are some technical stuff I've read but don't understand online... The reviews seems to be saying that it isn't worse but not too noticeably better either. However the USB-C headphones are supposedly the best sounding headphones to come with any phone (that's the only thing all the reviewers were unanimous on)