HTC U11 Life and U11 Plus announced: Specs, features and more

As expected, HTC today announced the launch of two brand new smartphones; U11 Life and U11 Plus. The U11 Life will be available for purchase in the US exclusively through the T-Mobile and the HTC's website starting from the today.

As of now, the company has not clearly announced the global release date of the U11 Life. The HTC U11 Plus, on the other hand, will be initially available in Taiwan and China. The phone will go on sale in Taiwan coming weekend, while Chinese customers will be able to buy the handset from November 11 onwards. HTC is yet to reveal the pricing of the U11 Life and U11 Plus.

HTC U11 Life

Starting with the HTC U11 Life, it brings the flagship features and design to the premium-mid range category. It has a "Liquid Surface" design and a 5.2-inch 1080p Super LCD display.

Notably, U11 Life is the first Android One smartphone that runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. There is another variant of the smartphone that runs on Android 7.1 Nougat OS with HTC's own UI on top. The company claims that it will be updated to Android Oreo within 30 days from the launch.

The smartphone features the same Edge Sense feature with a squeezable frame that is seen on the U11.

Under the hood, the U11 Life is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor. The chipset is teamed with 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage depending on the region.

In terms of optics, the smartphone features a 16MP camera on the back with 4K video recording support. Up front, there is a 16MP f/2.0 sensor that can shoot videos in 1080p. It packs a 2,600mAh battery to keep the lights on.

What's more, the device supports Google Assistant as well as Amazon Alexa and has an IP67 certified body for water and dust resistance. With the purchase of the U11 Life, buyers will also get the USonic noise cancellation ear buds in the box.

On the connectivity front, the HTC U11 Life offers Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and a USB Type-C port. The smartphone also features a fingerprint scanner that is embedded into the home button at the front.

HTC U11 Plus

U11 Plus is the high-end smartphone for those who want to step up their game. The smartphone comes with a 6-inch LCD display that carries support for WQHD+ resolution. This means the display has the screen resolution of 1,440×2,880 pixels along with an aspect ratio of 18:9.

The smartphone has been launched in two memory variants. The basic one with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, while the higher one will feature 6GB RAM and 128GB of native storage. Since there will be a microSD card, the storage space can be further expanded.

Powering the HTC U11 Plus is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor that is present in all the current flagship smartphones.

In terms of optics, the smartphone features 12MP rear-facing camera with f/1.7 aperture and dual-LED flash. Likewise, there lies an 8MP selfie camera at the front. The U11 Plus has the same camera hardware and software as the flagship U11.

When it comes to software, the smartphone arrives pre-installed with Android 8.0 Oreo operating system. While for battery, it uses a 3,393mAh battery that might not seem big enough given its large 6-inch screen.

HTC has optimized the Edge Sense feature on U11 Plus to offer more customizable experience to users. As such, it has a feature called Unique Edge Launcher. The U11 Plus also comes with an IP68 certified chassis and USonic ear buds in the box. Moreover, the smartphone is said to deliver 30% louder audio as compared to the U11.

Talking about the design, the HTC U11 Plus has minimal bezels, but it is nowhere near a fully bezel-less phone. The smartphone is offered in Silver and Ceramic Black color options. Additionally, there is a Translucent color variant, which allows you to see its innards through the rear panel.