Smartphone HTC U11 EYEs - advantages and disadvantages

HTC, once a successful company that introduced the very first Android smartphone on the market back in 2008, has been going through hard times in recent years. But the deal with the global giant Google, which bought out part of the company, gave NTS a second chance and the opportunity to firmly gain a foothold in the industry again. And now, the HTC U11 EYEs smartphone, presented on January 15, 2018, has become a very successful device in its mid-price category. The lighter version of the previous flagship HTC U11 has both an excellent camera and balanced performance.

Equipment

When buying a new phone, the first thing that catches your eye is not only its appearance, but also its equipment. In this regard, HTC really did their best, because many modern brands often save on components and put only the essentials. In the box from the device, you can find almost all the required buns, which frees the average buyer from purchasing additional accessories. The only thing that may be sorely lacking in the set is an adapter from USB Type-C to 3.5 mm for headphones, but this is solved by the presence of either a wireless replacement or by purchasing a wire in a store. So what's inside?

• Telephone;
• Documents with a guarantee certificate and instructions;
• Charger adapter;
• USB Type-C cord;
• Paper clip for the tray;
• Transparent plastic case;
• Branded headphones;
• Cloth for the screen.

Appearance

All modern trends are observed in the smartphone. This is a large, user-friendly 18: 9 screen, thin bezels, and the familiar location of the fingerprint scanner on the back. The phone case is made of glass and comes in three colors: black, red and blue. Despite the material of manufacture, the device practically does not slip in the hand, but it gets very dirty and easily scratched. The location of buttons and connectors is mostly standard, but with some peculiarities.

The back cover houses an ordinary camera, a flash, a round fingerprint scanner, as well as the HTC logo. In front of the screen there are two front-facing camera modules, a speaker grill, proximity and light sensors. At the bottom there is a USB Type-C connector, a main microphone hole and a speaker. Above are a dual tray (two nano SIM / nano SIM and SD card) and another microphone hole.

The volume rocker and grooved power button are located in the upper right corner on the edge of the case. No creaks, the assembly is of decent quality. Despite its rather large size, the device fits comfortably in the hand due to its elongated shape. The design looks stylish and the glass lid gives the device a flagship look. Beauty is, of course, above all, but for the sake of safety, the device is best placed in a case.

Specifications

Screen and sound

Considering the price, the phone's six-inch display performs well. Nice but not too saturated colors, rounded edges, wide viewing angle, high pixel density per inch. The surface of the screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. At the factory settings, the color range is colder, but it can be easily adjusted to suit your preferences.

The default color profile is RGB, unfortunately you cannot change it. One of the main advantages of the phone is the anti-reflective coating of the display and its high maximum brightness, which make it comfortable to use the device in bright rooms and in the sun. That is why this device is perfect for viewing photos, videos and films, reading, as well as playing games with colorful graphics.

There are no questions about the sound of the phone either. The main speaker is loud, sometimes wheezing and unnecessary noises slip, but only at maximum volume. Unfortunately, one of the disadvantages of this device is the lack of stereo, which makes the sound from the main microphone a bit flat. The speaker is of high quality and has a good volume margin. In headphones, the sound is full and deep.

Software

By default, the phone has an old Android 7.1 installed with a proprietary HTC shell, but the possibility of self-updating is provided. The interface is simple and intuitive. The rich possibilities for personalizing the device are captivating. The device control buttons are located at the bottom of the screen. They can not only be swapped, but you can also add a fourth at your discretion. Convenient to use gesture control. They can also be changed in the phone settings. Particularly noteworthy is the company's own development - Edge Sense. To use it, you just need to squeeze the bottom of the phone. This unusual function can be set to different actions depending on the strength of the compression and your needs.

Performance and autonomy

The phone is equipped with not new, but proven eight-core processor Snapdragon 652. Despite this, the smartphone works smoothly, without freezing. The maximum heating temperature of the device is slightly over 41 degrees. For everyday tasks, its performance is enough. But modern demanding applications run stably only at medium settings and below. Therefore, if a smartphone is bought specifically for active games, then it is still worth taking a closer look at devices with higher performance, and hence the price.

But with the autonomy of the phone, things are fine. The 3930 mAh battery will last for almost a day of active use, despite the impressive diagonal and high screen resolution.The phone can last up to 18 days in standby mode, and about 28 hours in talk mode. During the production of a video at maximum brightness, the phone will last about eight hours. In games, the autonomy is reduced to four hours. But to charge the battery by half, it will take just over half an hour. It will take almost two hours to fully charge. By the way, the standard charger supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology.

Camera

One of the main advantages of this phone is its camera. The quality of the images of the main module is almost in no way inferior to the flagship models. In good light, the rear camera takes great pictures. The phone copes much worse at night, there is a lot of noise. But autofocus works smartly even in low light conditions. This is due to the fact that for focusing, not several sensors are used, but the pixels themselves. It's also worth noting that the camera works best on Google's app.

The dynamic range is increased, the amount of unnecessary noise in the photo is reduced in low light, and in general, the pictures are taken at the level of the top-end Google Pixel smartphones. But the front camera copes, to put it mildly, mediocre. Photos are blurry, not detailed enough. The bokeh effect looks good but is far from perfect.

In addition to the fingerprint scanner, the phone also provides face unlock. It doesn't work very well, but it's stable. Unlocking the screen with your eyes closed and in poor lighting will not work.

As for the video, the maximum shooting resolution reaches 4k. Optical stabilization is smooth, the picture comes out beautiful. But in poor lighting conditions, the image on the video sometimes flashes and the focus is lost, but this is quite correctable with the additional Pro settings, which are, fortunately, enough in the phone.

And here are some examples of photos from the main camera of the phone:

The cost

The cost of the phone has dropped significantly at the moment. The device can be purchased for a relatively low price of 20-23 thousand rubles.

Pros and cons of a smartphone

• Great camera;
• High-quality screen;
• High autonomy.

• Glass body;
• Lack of a second speaker;
• Lack of 3.5 mm jack.

Outcome

HTC U11 EYEs is a great camera phone in its price range. If a bright screen, great image quality, and high autonomy are more important for you than high performance and a sturdy body, then this unit will be a good choice. Of course, most of all, many buyers are confused by the old processor, the phones, on the basis of which, began to appear back in 2016. That said, the Snapdragon 652 is still pretty nimble and competitive, so you shouldn't worry about performance issues.

Thus, this phone will become an excellent device for performing various daily tasks, launching undemanding applications and, of course, taking a lot of photos and videos.