The new HTC U12+ bucks the trend in the latest flagship phones that offer extreme high frame rates like 480fps and 960fps for short time frames. Instead, the phone touts 240fps at 1080p and 4k 60p as the main frame rate specs. This is competitive with the iPhone X & Samsung Galaxy S9 series where 4k at 60p is now the default offering for the UHD format on the high end and 240p at full HD on the SlowMo feature front.
This U12+ phone has dual cameras in the front and back which allow it to do interesting bokeh out of focus effects on all types of shots including video mode which may be a first. As to the quality of the effect in video, it will have to be scrutinized to see where it lands and if its good enough to use as a narrative video capture device. The phone has all the top specs of today and the camera has gathered a 103 score on the DXOMark test which is the 2nd best camera on a phone ever after the excellent Huawei P20 Pro at 109.
HTC U12+ Main Specs:
| DISPLAY | Type | Super LCD6 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 6.0 inches, 92.9 cm2 (~80.3% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution | 1440 x 2880 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~537 ppi density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes | |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | |
| – HTC Sense UI – DCI-P3 & HDR10 compliant |
| Phone Soc | OS | Android 8.0 (Oreo), planned upgrade to Android 9.0 (P) |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 | |
| CPU | Octa-core (4×2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) | |
| GPU | Adreno 630 |
| MEMORY | Card slot | microSD, up to 400 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 64/128 GB, 6 GB RAM |
| Main CAMERA SPECS | Primary | Dual: 12 MP (f/1.8, 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF) + 16 MP (f/2.6, 1.0µm), phase detection & laser autofocus, OIS, gyro-EIS, 2x optical zoom, dual-LED dual-tone flash |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 8MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR (photo/panorama) | |
| Video | 2160p@60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, HDR, 24-bit/96kHz stereo sound rec. | |
| Secondary | Dual: 8 MP (f/2.0, 1.12µm), 1080p, HDR, panorama |
water-resistant IP68 rating means you can use your phone even when there’s rain or dust.
MSRP $799 Availabe now at Amazon!
No Headphone Jack only USB C!
Bigger, Bolder and Edgier. Introducing the HTC U12+. by HTC:
HTC U12 Plus Hands-On by Engadget:
No Slow Motion Sample?
As it has become customary, slow-motion samples will really begin to trickle down when the phone is in the hands of more people. According to reviewers, the 4k video quality is outstanding and the phone achieves excellent OIS stabilization. This may be the phone to beat for sheer video and photo quality that is consistently excellent with little compromise. We will have to see the tests to confirm that.
HTC has played it safe with this phone, no huge design changes, no big specs that are groundbreaking but overall the package offers a match to some of the best out there. It doesn’t try to be a phone that brings unseen things to the table but it is a handset that aims to perform in a solid way that it is competitive with the best at everything while making the camera setup the main focus with quality in mind.
We will have more info and slow-motion samples from the U12 Plus when available. -HSC