As far as the domestic mobile phone market with fierce competition is concerned, HTC's model competitive advantage in the first two years is no better than before. In recent years, the only other bright spot was the controversial HTC M8 on the Internet. The later models did not leave me too deep impression, but the products that were later transferred to VR projects seemed more amazing than mobile phones. But recently, HTC, which has been silent for a long time in the mobile phone field, joined hands with Baidu DuerOS to release the latest generation of flagship machine - HTC U11. This should also be the flagship model HTC attaches the most importance to at present. The launch at the 20th anniversary of the company naturally carries more expectations and real names. Whether we can stick to the camp in the mobile phone market may be at this point.

|Video

This is a video report. Welcome to click to view it. The images and texts below are just supplements to the video, and the video is just an extension of the image and text.

|Parameters

HTC U11 adopts 5.5 inch 2560x1440 resolution Super LCD5 screen (Corning Gorilla 5th generation screen), 3D curved glass, 4G/6G storage, 64G/128G storage (all systems adopt UFS2.1, and support maximum 2TB TF expansion). Equipped with Snapdragon 835 processor (main frequency 2.45Ghz), 12 million rear Ultra Pixel 3 lens (1.4 μ m, f/1.7 aperture, optical anti shake, dual LED) and 16 million front self timer lens, Sense UI based on Android 7.1 (DuerOS is used for Chinese intelligent voice interaction), and 3000mAh battery (USB3.1 TYPE-C interface, QC3.0 fast charge). Double card and double waiting for all Netcom.

|Profile

The machine I have is an engineering version, so it took me a while to write about the experience before it was released. I skipped it when I opened the box. The overall appearance design has been further refined and optimized compared with the double glass and metal middle frame on the HTC U Ultra released at the beginning of the year. In addition to the double-sided 3D curved glass material, U11 has further integrated the curved surface treatment of the front panel glass.  

Combined with the continuous curve processing of the middle frame and the front and rear glass, the whole machine presents a beautiful visual effect different from the past while maintaining a round and comfortable feel.

The U11 is still located in the middle and lower part of the chin area of the mobile phone, just like HTC's recent mobile phone fingerprint modules. Although it has no effect on actual use, it seems strange for OCD visually. In addition, due to the use of non bendable LCD panel. It is still impossible to extend the display area of the screen to the left and right like other mobile phones with curved OLED panels. However, compared with the left and right curved display panels, I am more optimistic about the future trend of similar comprehensive screens, and hope that the HTC products in the later stage will further increase the proportion of screens in the upper and lower areas.  

At present, three models of black/blue/silver are available for the first time in the mainland, but the front faces are all black panels, which is different from the previous models, but it just weakens several sensor openings in the earpiece area. The front and back of this model in hand are black panel models, which are more integrated visually.

  In terms of the glass back cover, HTC has adopted a kind of painting process polished by the so-called two years' research and development of the water splitting and mixing color technology. Different angles of view have different streamer senses. The black back cover will turn dark green most of the time.  

The unique coloring process combined with the material of the glass back cover has brought the hand feel and vision to a new height, and the reflected light will appear dark green most of the time. The soft and jade like feel is better than the metal back cover of Apple. This year's flagship series rarely reach this level of technology.  

The rear adopts a 12 megapixel HTC UltraPixel 3 camera with dual color temperature flash. It supports optical anti shake (OIS) and electronic anti shake (EIS) technologies, and UltraSpeed auto focusing. This mobile phone won the best 90 points in DXOMark, and the specific experience will be brought later.  

It is equipped with four highly sensitive microphones (one of which is located on the back), with a maximum listening distance of 1.5 meters. It can receive sound in 360 degrees. It is also equipped with dual speakers, eliminates the 3.5mm headphone hole, and uses the TYPE-C interface of UBS3.1 that supports QC3.0 fast charging. Subsequent power consumption tests will also be carried out.  

The card holder is located on the top, and the machine supports dual cards and dual standby. The size of the NanoSIM card and the TF card expansion of up to 2T are supported.

|Screen

What is commendable is the 2K screen effect of this Super LCD5.  

5.5 inch, non diamond pixel arrangement. The picture is very delicate. And quite bright.

It is as transparent as Amoled's black and more delicate, and its visual perception is better than the MX4 with the best LCD effect ever recognized.

|Sense UI

As the earliest Android customization enterprise, today's Sense UI is obviously more stable than domestic customized ROMs.

HTC U11 is equipped with Sense UI version based on Android 7.1.1. The interface has not been drastically changed, and the overall experience still follows the original experience. In combination with the flagship configuration of stacking, the operation has not been stuck for several days.  

In order to make better use of this screen, HTC has also pre installed VIVE related APP, which can also provide amazing experience in mobile VR.  

The theme store provides rich themes, and supports customized mashups of components in each theme, increasing playability.  

Of course, there are some details to pay attention to, and I forgive my obsessive-compulsive disorder. Here, the semi transparent background connection problem of the album menu is suggested to be optimized during the next firmware update.

| Edge Sense

In recent years, various mobile phone manufacturers have applied interactive innovation to the screen, whether it is an expansion screen or a pressure sensitive screen, while Edge Sense is a new technology. Articles under the mobile phone frame allow users to quickly call out multi task operation icons by holding and pinching the mobile phone frame with one hand to open and use applications.  

It should be emphasized here that this technology is not the edge touch realized by software on the screen edge of some domestic models, but the pressure sensing function added in the lower part of the left and right middle frames, allowing users to respond to some functions by holding and pressing. In addition, squeezing also supports short press and long press to respond to different actions. The triggering force can also be set freely, and girls with low strength can also use it.

From the comprehensive experience, although the edge pressure feeling is not as strong as the visual highlight brought by the expansion screen and the pressure feeling screen function, the practical operation is more practical. The expansion screen and the pressure feeling are often not supported by enough resources, which is just decoration. Users who think this function is impractical will send you one sentence: it is toxic and unforgettable after use.

|DuerOS

HTC intelligent voice system is a cooperation with Baidu DuerOS. The competition between SIRI and Google Assistant in artificial intelligence is also becoming increasingly fierce. Baidu DuerOS, which was born in the sky, has cooperated with HTC to provide users with edge pressure touch U11 with a more natural use experience, communicate and interact through the purest user "voice", and expand the ecosystem of Internet applications. Can Baidu's DuerOS, combined with the highlight of the pressure box, bring about real experience improvement?

First of all, it should be explained that the HTC U11 system framework is still Sense UI. As for what many people do not understand, they have HTC Sense Companion and need to cooperate with DuerOS, Baidu's AI assistant. In fact, it is not contradictory. The former is mainly responsible for learning user behavior and optimizing the current mobile experience, while DuerOS is more a conversational AI system based on the understanding of cloud data accumulation and voice recognition combined with Baidu's own localized services.

In addition to the default holding pressure awakening, it also supports long press of the HOME key to awaken the degree secret. However, I prefer to hold the frame to wake up, so that every time I activate the dialogue, it is more natural. It does not need to touch the screen with my fingers, nor does it need to start monitoring in the background for a long time. Maybe it is the voice operation that I have seen so far that most conforms to the sense of smooth interaction.

Idiom Solitaire is a small game to test the amount of knowledge. If you really don't understand it, you can also ask Du Mi for tips. It is a function of teaching and entertaining.  

Baidu's business and cloud data advantages are more prominent for information search such as takeout and movies.  

I still remember that at the reading meeting, the online generation of hidden poems was particularly powerful. Now, through the most simple and direct voice dialogue and big data accumulation, they are randomly combined into the desired hidden poems, and the answers are different each time.

DuMi can flexibly judge the scene of the current conversation, and deal with it in sections and rounds. For example, after asking about the weather, ask "Which city is it?" It can also tell you how the weather is in XX city in connection with the previous conversation. Du Mi did quite well in this regard.  

In terms of dialogue details, when you set the alarm clock, it will ask more detailed questions. Few voice assistants are so considerate. In addition, in daily use, the most common is the video navigation used to check the train schedule and destination. The operation of holding the two hands to talk is much faster than the steps of typing and checking routes in Baidu Maps in the browser.

Through the dialogue experience of the whole scene body, the ability of this abstruse person is commendable. It is like an omnipotent butler, providing you with various services in life. HTC chose to cooperate with Baidu DuerOS this time, which shows that it has deep hopes for its AI era. For more detailed details and highlights of voice conversation, please see the full video report section above. This section is only a supplement to the video.

|Camera

This time, not only is the combination of ID design and edge touch beautiful, but also the camera ability surprises me.

The camera's default interface is simple and clean. The 3D icon at the bottom of the interface in route mode is the 3D ring sound source focusing technology for multi microphone recording. The subsequent photos are straight out under the camera's default settings. In order to experience the photo effect more realistically, take out the previous standby machine and compare it with the HTC U11. Let's have a look at the actual effect of the best 90 points obtained in DXOMark!  

The most real experience comes from comparison. Although the picture on the left side is good, the close-up scene U11 of the still life is obviously more bright.  

The image on the left is processed conservatively, the overall image of U11 is brighter, and the color is corrected. Moreover, U11 is more complete in retaining details, and there is no sense of smearing in the edge area. The brighter face of the Great Sage can retain more details of the cloth pattern, obviously this group of U11 is superior.  

U11 does better in brightness/color separation details when shooting with flash in a completely dark room.  

This group of macro details U11 has a richer sense of hierarchy, and the illusion effect of the distant view U11 is more natural, without a sense of smearing.  

In general, the picture on the left is more attractive, but the picture details and scenes of U11 are more consistent with the real cloudy weather.  

The most amazing thing is the performance of the night scene. With enough tolerance, the brightness and details have reached a new height.

The f/1.7 aperture of the UltraPixel 3 lens ensures the brightness and improves the image quality. Compared with the PRO6s, the night scene is much worse, and the U11 leaves are rich in details. And the noise control at night is excellent. Please check the video evaluation for other aspects of video recording.

|External release

Users who have used HTC in recent years will surely praise its dual channel speaker design. In the actual experience, the dual channel speakers bring more three-dimensional hearing and also greater thrust, which is enough to replace some small Bluetooth speakers. In the video experience, I compared with a machine that is known to have a HIFI external amplifier, and the result is that in front of U11, no matter the sound field/level/volume, it is dwarfed.

|Power consumption and endurance

This mobile phone is used according to the medium and light standard that I don't play games. When I go out with full power in the morning, there is nearly 50% power when I come back from the Internet at 8:00, which is more than enough for one day.

Standard Type-C charging cable.  

Support QC3.0 fast charging.  

The output parameter is 5V=2.5A or 9V=1.7A or 12V=1.25A.  

After the battery is discharged, the test data of power off and charging at the room temperature of about 25 ° in one night is summarized. It takes less than 110 minutes to fully charge the mobile phone. The list on the right shows the power when charging, with a peak value of about 17W.

Disadvantages:

·Some animation details and phone interface processing of Sense UI are not as beautiful as other customized ROMs in China

·File management does not support NTFS external devices (third-party APP can view, but has no write permission)

·The proportion of the upper and lower screens of the machine can also be increased, further improving the shock effect brought by the integrated body

Benefits Overview:

·The round double-sided glass and the eight curved edges bring excellent grip.

·The stacking and feeding of U and UFS2.1 of 835 make the machine operate smoothly and install APK quickly.

·The actual experience of Edge Sense edge pressure touch technology is better than expected and very practical.

·DuerOS's big data and multi round dialogue system combined with context are commendable.

·The camera function is the best among the mobile phones I have used. At present, there is no one.

·The external playback brought by dual channel speakers brings a better playing experience, and the effect is comparable to that of small speakers.

In terms of price, it is HTC's rare flagship product below 5K, and the 4G+64G version on the mainland starts at 4599 yuan. However, it is much cheaper than the 5K launch of the previous HTC U Ultra flagship. If HTC U Ultra is a flagship of the previous generation that changes for change, the HTC U11 equipped with DuerOS is a flagship that is more open to change and more introverted. The original intention is easy to get, but it is always difficult to keep. As a person who has watched HTC move from WM system to Android, he naturally does not hope that this classic brand bearing a generation of people will never recover. The U11 excellent hardware level, bright DuerOS system, also without the early various long and low bus slots, a mature product should be like this, and the rest should be given to the market for real reflection.

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