The HTC U1: A Revolutionary Smartphone Experience

This phone looks and feels it carries over a similar design that we initially saw on the U Ultra and even though it's similar to the U Ultra, the design is much more refined on the U1. It doesn't have a large camera bump like the U Ultra did and it has a smaller 5.5-inch screen, so it's much easier to use in one hand. The edges of both the front and back glass curve down to meet the metal frame, giving it a very seamless feel with no sharp or rough edges. It's very similar to what Samsung has done with the Galaxy S8; it is very comfortable to hold, but because it's made mostly of glass and doesn't have flat sides or chamfered edges to help with the grip, it does feel quite slippery.

One of the standout features of the U1 is its liquid glass surface. Don't get me wrong, I love this feature - it looks amazing and some of the colors like solar red will shift and change colors depending on the angle and how the light hits it. It's a really cool effect, but the mirror-like finish shows and attracts fingerprints like crazy. HTC seems to be pretty aware of this considering they've included a clear case inside of the box to not only protect the U1 but also keep away the fingerprints.

One thing that you will not find on the U1 is a headphone jack, and HTC is pretty firm on sticking with this decision. I wouldn't expect them to bring it back anytime soon because HTC feels they can deliver a better audio experience through the USB Type-C port. I have to admit, audio sounds incredible on the U1. The included USonic earbuds not only sound really good but they also feature active noise cancellation which works extremely well for blocking out exterior noise. They're definitely above and beyond the typical pair of earbuds that you're used to getting with your smartphone.

HTC has also included a 32mm Jack to USB Type-C adapter with the U1, which means you can still use your favorite pair of over-the-ear cans. While my Audio Technica M50 XS aren't exactly the highest impedance headphones in the world, the U1 drives these headphones with significantly louder and fuller sound compared to the Galaxy S8 that I was using prior.

The biggest standout feature on the U1 is The Edge Sense Technology. The sides of the U1 are pressure-sensitive, which allows you to physically squeeze the phone to activate a specific function or open an app like the camera or web browser. It does sound weird to squeeze your phone to make it do something simply because it's not something we usually do with our phones, but I really like this feature. It works well and has a lot of practical uses, and isn't a gimmick like you may initially think.

This is a Taiwan version of the U1, so it's not optimized for US networks and obviously that's going to impact things like network performance and battery life. However, even though I'm aware of these limitations, I still wanted to provide you guys with my experiences so far with the battery life. And so far, it's been surprisingly good! It doesn't have the biggest battery we've ever seen in a smartphone, but it's lasted me comfortably through a full day with a consistent 5 hours of screen time, which is really impressive.

The camera on the U1 has also been a standout feature for me. You might have heard that the U1 has the highest DXO Mark score ever received by a smartphone, and I'm not entirely sure how much I buy into those scores, but the camera has been impressive. The photos are packed with detail, excellent color reproduction, and overall good dynamic range mostly because the camera auto-processes everything as HDR. The built-in OAS makes for some very smooth-looking footage without a whole lot of noticeable shakes, jitters, or any sort of warping.

My favorite feature about this camera is the new Acoustic Focus feature which works beautifully to enhance audio recording and capture. It's clear that HTC has put a lot of thought into the design of the U1's camera system and the results are impressive.

Overall, the HTC U1 ticks all the right boxes in terms of design, performance, and features. With its innovative Edge Sense Technology, incredible audio capabilities, and stunning camera quality, it's no wonder that HTC has a lot riding on the success of this device.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis phone looks and feels it carries over a similar design that we initially saw on the U Ultra and even though it's similar to the U Ultra the design is much more refined on the U1 it doesn't have a large camera bump like the U Ultra did and it has a smaller 5.5 in screen so it's much easier to use in one hand the edges of both the front and back glass curv down to meet the metal frame giving it a very seamless feel with no sharp or rough edges it's very similar to what Samsung has done with the Galaxy S8 it is very comfortable to hold but because it's made mostly of glass and doesn't have flat sides or champer edges to help with the grip it does feel quite slippery I love the liquid glass surface don't get me wrong it looks amazing and some of the colors like solar red will shift and change colors depending on the angle and how the light hits it it's a really cool effect but the mirror likee finish shows and attracts fingerprints like crazy and HTC seems to be pretty aware of this considering they've included a clear case inside of the box to not only protect the U1 but also keep away the fingerprints one thing that you will not find on the U1 is a headphone jack and HTC is pretty firm on sticking with this decision so I wouldn't expect them to bring it back anytime soon the biggest reason why is because HTC feels they can deliver a better audio experience through the USB type-c port and I have to admit audio sounds incredible on the U1 the included usonic earbuds not only sound really good but they also feature active noise cancellation which works extremely well for blocking out exterior noise they're definitely above and beyond the typical pair of earbuds that you're used to getting with your smartphone this time around HCC has also included a 32 mm Jack to USB type-c adapter with the u11 which they didn't do with the U Ultra this means you can still use your favorite pair of over thee cans and while my Audio Technica M50 XS aren't exactly the highest impedance headphones in the world the U1 drives these headphones with significantly louder and Fuller sound in comparison to the Galaxy S8 that I was using prior the biggest standout feature on the U1 is The Edge Sense Technology the sides of the U1 are pressure sensitive and this allows you to physically squeeze the phone to activate a specific function or open an app like the camera or web browser it does sound weird to squeeze your phone to make it do something simply because it's not something we usually do with our phones but I really like this feature it works well has a lot of practical uses and isn't a gimmick like you may initially think it would be because this is a Taiwan version of the U1 it's not optimized for us networks and obviously that's going to impact things like Network performance and Battery life but I still wanted to provide you guys my experiences so far with the battery life even though this is not a US model and so far it's been surprisingly good and I say surprisingly because it doesn't have the biggest battery we've ever seen in a smartphone it's only 3,000 milliamp hours uh but it's lasted me comfortably through a full day with a consistent 5 hours of screen on time which is really impressive so it has me feeling very optimistic for what battery life is going to be like on a US version the last thing that has really stood out to me so far is the camera so you might have heard that the u11 has the highest dxo Mark score ever received by a smartphone and I'm not entirely sure how much I buy into those scores but the camera has been impressive and I've thoroughly enjoyed using it I think it's a huge improvement over last year's htc10 which by the way wasn't even a bad camera the photos are packed with detail excellent color reproduction and overall good dynamic range mostly because the camera autor processes everything as HDR similar to the pixel video is also really great the built-in OAS makes for some very smooth looking footage without a whole lot of noticeable shakes Jitters or any sort of warping my favorite feature about this camera is the new acoustic Focus feature which leverages the four microphones on the U1 to record 360 degree or 3D audio and when you zoom in on a subject the audio would get louder or more Amplified it's a very neat effect and simulates the act of you physically getting closer to a concert stage a person playing an instrument or whatever the audio Source may be e overall initial impressions of the u11 are very positive it's been a very pleasant smartphone experience and offers some really interesting and unique features that really make it stand out which is exactly what HTC needed especially if they really want to capture the attention of consumers now I didn't talk about hardware specs or the display uh but it does tick all the right boxes in those areas and we'll go more in depth with that in the full review HCC has a lot riding on the success of the U1 and so far they're certainly on the right track to delivering a home run hit but what do you guys think about the U1 let us know your thoughts down in the comments below and give this video a thumbs up if you did enjoy it subscribe to the channel which is also down below hit that notification Bell while you're at it so you don't miss out on future videos and as always follow us on social media Instagram Twitter Snapchat Google+ all that good stuff be linked down below check out the website as well and Jord authority.com your source for all things Android\n"