Smartphone HTC U12 life and U12 +: advantages and disadvantages

Gadgets in the modern world are being improved and updated so quickly that sometimes even the biggest fans of new products miss decent devices. And one of the fastest growing areas in 2019 is the development of mobile devices, the leader among which, undoubtedly, are smartphones.

Today, thanks to their enormous potential and an immense number of functions, they are the main helpers of a person. This review will show two novelties of the market - the HTC U12 life and U12 + smartphones, the advantages and disadvantages of which can become a serious topic for discussion. And who knows, perhaps these devices will be able to squeeze the popular models of titans in the industry from the pedestal.

HTC U12 life - will bring HTC back to life?

It's no secret that the Taiwanese company knows how to make high-quality devices, but at the same time its golden years are behind. A series of bad decisions, poor marketing and economy on the work of designers almost led one of the former market leaders to complete collapse. However, despite all the difficulties and declining sales, HTC still remains in the market and releases new models in the hope of regaining its former glory.

HTC U12 life is a mid-budget smartphone that has good chances to dispel the long-held belief that HTC can do nothing but flagships.

For the first time in many years, the company came up with an extraordinary design solution, which could have been stimulated by the worst financial quarter in recent years.

Spied on competitors and made their own

These words can be used to describe the design of the new smartphone. There is in it, something from eminent American brands, but still we can't talk about copying. As a result, we got a rather original and interesting body. The key chips can be safely called engraved (which is very good, because the phone will lie better in the hand, and the drawing will not be erased over time) on the bottom of the strip. Above them, already on a smooth surface, is a fingerprint scanner, nothing revolutionary here. The case material is plastic, not glass, as it might seem at first glance, however, contrary to popular belief, this can hardly be called a minus (plastic is really high quality and aesthetic). In the corner, to the left of the scanner, there is a dual camera, which is not very convenient.

But the design of the front part is difficult to call unique - it is quite standard for all smartphones in the budget and mid-budget segment. The frames have not disappeared anywhere either: on the top, with a shift to the right, there is a front camera, to the left of it is a microphone. Power and volume buttons are located on the right side.

Features: nice embossed coating (0.3 mm), not very convenient location of the main camera, high-quality plastic. The models are currently available in two colors: Moonlight Blue (close to the moonlit night sky) and Twilight Purple (twilight with a purple tint).

Simplified version

Often, an ordinary model differs significantly from the flagship, and the manufacturer proudly calls it a "stripped-down version" (to the point that only the name remains from the older brother). This trend has not been spared and U12 Life is the only thing that it can boast of is a longer battery life. However, this is not surprising - Life was equipped with almost the same battery, but with much less productive hardware.

Specifications:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor (eight cores at 1.8 GHz). An excellent modern processor - inexpensive, powerful and functional. It is the price-performance ratio that makes it one of the most sought-after smartphones on the market.
• GPU: Adreno 509. This graphics belongs to the average in terms of performance and is a fellow traveler of the same Snapdragon 636. Nothing outstanding, however, it performs its functions, perfectly producing good fps in modern games.
• Memory: 4/64 GB. The very thing that a modern "middle peasant" needs is a little more than is required for comfortable use, but at the same time it is not designed for the long term.
• Cameras: main: 16 Mp + 5 Mp; front: 13 Mp. Quite good cameras, however, in such a device I would like to see more decent characteristics.
• Diagonal: 6 inches. It may seem cumbersome to some, however, contrary to all expectations, this is not so.
• Screen resolution: 2160 × 1080. A beautiful and lively picture is provided.
• Battery capacity: 3600 mAh. A little and a lot - enough for an active working day, and with moderate use for a couple of days
• Interface: USB Type-C. Nothing else was expected here.
• Technologies: Bluetooth: 5.0, NFC, A-GPS, GPS, Wi-Fi. The necessary wireless technologies in a smartphone of this class must be mandatory.
• Operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo. The current version, which is currently used by more than 20% of users.
• Dimensions: 5 x 75.4 x 8.3 mm, weight - 175 g. The weight is slightly overstated, but this is not critical.
• Communication: dual sim Nano-SIM format, GSM, 3G, 4G (LTE) standards. Everything is good here, from the modern card format to LTE support.

In general, if we ignore the price (which ranges from 330-350 euros) and the prevailing opinion about the company, the smartphone is not even bad at all. The power of this device should be more than enough for many games (at medium graphics settings), and it should perform the main functions perfectly (since there is enough RAM, as well as useful wireless technologies). But lovers of photos and selfies may not be satisfied, the camera is not bad here, but it does not reach the general level (and how well this model takes pictures at night is an open question). Otherwise, the device is no worse than its closest competitors. For those who are wondering where it is profitable to buy HTC U12 life in 2019, there is good news - the smartphone will be officially sold in Russia.

• Design;
• Efficiency (the device cannot be called super-autonomous, but the power consumption of the processor and graphics is quite economical);
• Practicality (reliable plastic and comfortable corrugation make the phone really comfortable and durable);
• For games (of course, not at maximum settings, but quite enough for a camphor pastime);
• Price quality.

• Camera; Two points at once - the inconvenient location (this is more individual) and the quality of the pictures (which does not reach the class of the device).

Conclusion: compiling a rating of high-quality smartphones, it would be very difficult to determine the position for HTC U12 life. On the one hand, this is a solid gadget, on the other hand, minor flaws come up, and competitors have something to offer. The model was perceived ambiguously by the public as well - someone scoffed at the similarity with the Google Pixel, someone praised the new solutions. But discarding all prejudices, opinions and competitors, we can safely say that HTC managed to make a quality product, it only remains not to repeat the age-old problem and conduct a successful marketing campaign.

HTC U12 Plus - are these pluses enough?

Unfortunately, the question was formed after getting acquainted with the flagship and the answer turned out to be extremely ambiguous. But first things first.The flagships are the elements of HTC, they brought the company that popularity, which was later mercilessly lost. And although the situation with the "plus" is better than with the previous attempts of the Taiwanese, some mistakes could not be avoided, and when you take the smartphone in hand, there is no feeling that this is "the same" HTC. But, despite this, not everything is so bad - a number of points will definitely delight the fans of the brand.

Attractive design

The case, made of glass and aluminum, and also available in three colors (blue, red and black), looks very interesting. And HTC's own development “Liquid Surface” (the surface looks like a liquid) is really good and adds mystery and nobility. Variations in black and red were especially distinguished. The first allows you to see the "inner world" of the smartphone (antenna, battery, cables), while the second resembles flames when moving. True, all impressions are spoiled by the glass surface - fingerprints quickly collect on it, which makes the smartphone seem dirty.

The "monobrow" did not take root in the U12 Plus either. However, this is far from the most important thing, but the touch feeling and ergonomics are at a high level. The smartphone lies comfortably in the hand, nothing interferes and does not stick out (the camera and the fingerprint scanner are in a comfortable position), and at the same time everything is easy to intuitively find.

Features: high-quality and pleasant to the touch body, aesthetic appearance, intuitive arrangement of buttons and sensor, variety of color variations, fits comfortably in the hand.

Disadvantages of perfection

The flagship received very good characteristics, interesting design solutions were implemented, but even here the manufacturer managed to distinguish itself with several "shoals".

When you turn on the display, you immediately notice how realistically the matrix reproduces the colors (images are juicy and clear). But this is followed by disappointment - the screen brightness is clearly not enough to realize the matrix's potential. And if indoors you can close your eyes to this, then on the street (especially in sunny weather) it is simply impossible to see anything on the screen.

But the ability to switch the device to a four-inch mode (real diagonal - 6.2 inches) with one movement (double-click on the device) will definitely appeal to girls and people with small palms. It should be said that one-handed operation in this mode is quite convenient and does not limit the user's actions.

Having dealt with the main points, you can start examining the hardware, but even a cursory glance will be enough to understand - HTC U12 Plus is a productive smartphone with good potential.

Specifications:

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (eight cores 2.6 GHz). The processor power is enough for any modern games, not to mention the work of standard applications.
• GPU: Adreno 523. Fantastic picture without signatures for active games is provided.
• Memory: 6 RAM, 64/128 GB. There is enough RAM for the most demanding applications in terms of storage, that is, the option to purchase a model with 64 or 128 GB, depending on the user's needs.
• Cameras: 12 Mp + 16 Mp main, 16 Mp - front. A definite plus of the model is high-quality cameras with good aperture and zoom, which will notice the smallest details. And an example of a photo taken by the U12 Plus at dusk can surprise you with a small amount of noise and excellent detail in low light conditions.
• Diagonal: 6.2 inches. The large display size may put off some users, but in practice the device is quite comfortable.
• Screen resolution: The clarity of the image with good viewing angles will delight you with its realism.
• Battery capacity: 3500 mAh. And here is a significant blunder - due to the huge performance, the phone cannot show long battery life.
• Interface: USB Type-C. Standard for models of this class.
• Technologies: GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v 5.0, NFC, DLNA. All the necessary technologies are present.
• Operating system: Android 8.0.
• Dimensions: 156.6 x 73.9 x 8.7-9.7 mm, weight - 188 grams. Large but comfortable.
• Communication: dual sim Nano-SIM format, GSM, 3G, 4G (LTE) standards. The smartphone is capable of showing download speeds (LTE) up to 1.2 Gbps.

After studying the above characteristics, the question of how to choose a powerful smartphone, the average price of which is within 60,000 rubles, simply disappears. Plus photography fans will also love it, because the camera is excellent (many popular models show terrible results at night, which cannot be said about the HTC flagship). True, for those people whose main selection criteria are the autonomy and adaptability of a smartphone for use on the street (and it will not be easy to quickly read SMS on a dark plus screen), it is clearly not suitable. And the price is clearly overpriced, new products from competitors at a lower cost (slightly) do not have such problems.

• Power;
• Camera;
• Body materials;
• IP 68 protection (against dust and moisture);
• RAM (currently six gigabytes is enough with a surplus).

• Autonomy (the battery capacity would be quite enough for a device with an economical processor like Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, which the younger model is equipped with, but not for the powerful Snapdragon 845);
• Maximum brightness.

Conclusion: the luxury model is distinguished not only by its high potential, but also by the price tag. The characteristics, appearance and functionality are at a decent level, but minor flaws (which are quite realistic not to allow) put the Taiwanese flagship one step below the competition. It can be seen that HTC decided to reconsider its policy and the first attempts can not be called a failure, but while the company still has room to strive. In the meantime, potential buyers of this device are people who are ready to pay not only for quality and power, but also for the brand.

Results and comparison of phones

Below we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the comparative table:

Even the best manufacturers make mistakes. Fortunately, HTC is not giving up and continues to try to regain its former popularity, and although HTC U12 life and U12 + are still difficult to call market leaders, these models are definitely worth attention. And since there are many fans of the brand to this day, with successful and timely advertising, a pair of stylish and powerful smartphones can well expect commercial success.