HTC Unveils the U11 Plus and U11 Life

The HTC U11 has been a big hit this year, both critically and commercially. The Taiwan-based manufacturer is following up that success with the U11 Plus, which seems poised to make just as big of a splash in the market as its predecessor did.

This time around, however, HTC isn’t just releasing another flagship. They’re also releasing the HTC U11 Life, their first stab at the mid-range market in a few years. The Life is available now, the HTC U11 Plus is on its way, and they both seem promising.

The HTC U11 Plus is not all that different than the U11, as is often the case with sequel phones. It’s glass, and the fingerprint sensor has been moved to right below the rear camera. It’s also got an IP67 rating, up from the U11’s IP68 rating. One of the coolest design choices is the Translucent backing (which is optional) that lets you see the guts of the phone.

The specs are as follows: Snapdragon 835, 64GB/4GB RAM or 128GB/6GB RAM, microSD slot, 3,930 mAh battery, Quick Charge 3.0, and Android Oreo. The rear camera is a 12-megapixel UltraPixel 3 sensor with f/1.7 aperture and 1.4 μm pixels. The front camera gives you an 8-megapixel sensor.

Like its predecessor, it has a squeezable frame, but this time around a squeeze can bring up Google Assistant, Alexa, or other AI assistants. There’s also Edge Launcher, which gives you access to different apps via squeezing.

The phone will come in three colors: Translucent Black, Ceramic Black, and Amazing Silver, the last of which is very boastful. As of the time of this writing, we don’t yet know just which territories the HTC U11 Plus is coming, nor how much it will cost. What we do know is that there is no headphone jack. Enjooooooooooy!

The HTC U11 Life has less going on than the Plus model, but it’s a mid-range phone, so that makes sense. Like the Plus, the Life uses HTC’s Liquid Surface design, so you know it’s pretty. The back of the casing is acrylic, not glass, which is an obvious cost-cutting measure. It does have an IP67 rating, which is nice.

Despite being the affordable option of the two, the U11 is no slouch. 5.2-inch Super LCD 1080p display, Snapdragon 630 Mobile Platform, 32GB storage, 3GB RAM, microSD capable up to 2TB, 16-megapixel rear and front cameras, and a 2,600 mAh battery. And zero headphone jacks. HTC also doesn’t include a USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box, which is a real d-word move. However, they do include their USonic active noise cancelling earphones, so now I feel bad about my d-word comment.

It launched with Android Nougat, but should be up to Oreo by the end of November. It’s available now from AT&T and T-Mobile for $349 and $300, making the T-Mobile version $50 cheaper. An Android One version is coming with Android Oreo and a Brilliant Black option, though we don’t know when.