The HTC U11 Plus was finally unveiled yesterday and to our surprise, the phone is already shaping up to be a success, even before it starts selling.
Apparently, the HTC U11 Plus is the abandoned Google Pixel 2 XL ‘muskie’ and in fact, it’s for this reason that the phone is getting unexpected attention. Before the launch of the Google Pixel 2 phones, it had been rumored that the tech giant will unveil up to three phones, but for some reason, muskie was dropped.
Whatever the reasons for ditching muskie, it turns out that the U11 Plus it became is an equally great device, probably even better than the LG-made Pixel 2 XL. Like the latter, it has a 6-inch QHD+ resolution with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 protection, but it’s an LCD panel as opposed to the Pixel 2 XL’s pOLED, which has had a multitude of issues in the few weeks it has been on the market.
Google Pixel 2 XL issues aside, the HTC U11 Plus is indeed a great phone. In fact, it has one of the biggest battery units of any flagship phone released this year, only bettered by the likes of Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and Huawei Mate 10, but not significantly. Being as 2017 flagship, the phone also ships with flagship hardware specs and features, but one disappointment for many will be the single-lens camera setup on the back at a time when other serious flagship phones have already turned to dual-lens setups.
Well, HTC has plans to make up for this, but you’ll have to wait until next year. During the launch event for the HTC U11 Plus, the Taiwanese company said that it’s working on a dual-lens camera smartphone for 2018, but the exact details of the phone did not come out.
Looking at the U11 Plus, it’s possible to see a rejuvenated HTC. If the company takes this same creation to the next level by adding a second sensor to the already powerful single-lens setup on the current models, well, we might just see a reborn HTC in 2018. According to HTC president Chialin Chang, the company “will need to figure out how to make this feature stand out” from the competition.
HTC was actually among the first to make a major mark in the smartphone industry with a dual-lens camera back in 2011 – the Evo 3D, but it failed terribly not just because the 3D technology was also a terrible idea, but because the market wasn’t ready for it. Today, everyone wants a phone with a dual-lens camera and if the HTC U11 Plus gets such a sibling, there’s no doubt that the company will realize the fruits of this decision.