HTC U12 Life review
Build Quality
Phone Set Up
Features
Camera & Video
Battery Life
A new mid-ranger from HTC
Our HTC U12 Life review uncovers a good mid-range smartphone that is set to arrive in the UK during September or October. The handset only price should be around £299 but we will need to wait a little longer to find out its price on a 24 month contract.
Build Quality
Full body display
The HTC U12 Life has a large 6” full body display (18:9 screen aspect ratio with FHD+ resolution). HTC hasn’t adopted the notched look so you will still see some of the phone body above the display. There is a slight benefit to this because the top rows of pixels are fully functional.
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The display performs well overall with high contrast and vivid colours.
3D Ultra Stripes
The HTC U12 Life has a dual finish with laser etched subtle soft stripes covering part of the acrylic glass unibody. The top half remains smooth and this area has a very shiny finish. Many people complained that the U11 Life picked up fingerprints too easily, so that issue is solved here with the shiny finish restricted to areas that you are less likely to touch.
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The new dual tone liquid surface catches the eye and creates a more secure grip in the hand. You can choose between two colours; Moonlight Blue or Twilight Purple. HTC claims that the phone is more resistant to scratches.
Octa-core processor
The HTC U12 Life has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 1.8GHz octa-core processor with 4GB RAM. This offers 40% better performance and 10% better graphics performance, compared to the processor used in the U11 Life.
Phone Set Up
Security and memory
The HTC U12 Life has a fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone, This is positioned quite high up on the back but it still feels natural to use.
| HTC U11 Life blue deals |
The internal 64GB memory can be used to store your content. There is a microSD card slot, so you can expand the memory in the future if needed.
Features
Android Oreo
The HTC U12 Life runs on Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo operating system. This gives you the expected set of apps such as:
- Google Assistant
- Keep - Note taking and to-do lists
- Google Photos - A searchable photo gallery with photos backed up in the cloud
- Google Maps
- YouTube
- Play Store
- Play Music
The user interface is tweaked with HTC Sense. If you love to play music, then the bottom firing speakers and 3.5mm audio jack will be greatly appreciated.
Camera & Video
Dual camera with live bokeh
The HTC U12 Life has a dual camera with a 16MP lens and a 5MP lens. These lenses work together in Bokeh Mode and you can see the background blur in the viewfinder, so you know you will get the result you desire, prior to pressing the shutter button.
| HTC U11 Life black deals |
The camera can record high resolution 4K video and with Video Pic, you can capture still photos while you record.
The 13MP selfie camera handles low light scenarios well with a LED flash and HDR, which captures the dark elements of the scene in detail. As expected, there is a Beautification Mode and the option for recording Full HD video.
Battery Life
Fast charge battery
The HT U12 Life has a high capacity 3,600mAh battery. Fast charging is on offer and you can go from empty to full in only 50 minutes, which is quite impressive.
Next: Sony Xperia XZ3 review
Written by: Michael Brown