The HTC 10 would have been one of the better best kept secrets but like all things, the proverbial yet unfortunate leaks revealed almost everything about the latest flagship from the Taiwanese mobile company through pictures and a video. That said HTC Middle East did give us the opportunity to learn more about the device earlier this week and keeping in line with the embargo we can now reveal in full detail what we know.
It adopts a design from the HTC A9
The classic unibody design that we know and expect from HTC looks adopted from the A9. Of course this is a flagship with the makers dropping the M moniker. From the brief time I’ve had the phone, it feels really good to hold and grips well too. There’s a signature dual tone finishing and 2.5D glass panel display with capacitative buttons.
The display is a QHD 5.2 inch display with Cinema Grade 4K resolution. On the internals are the 2016 standard Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU. I didn’t have much time to play with the new HTC sense 8 but it does come with Android 6. HTC promises that material design will be a strong component in Sense. Remarkably there’s a lot of screen real estate with their themes to allow you to have a free flow design instead of a locked gird and HTC boasts this is the purest android experience you’ll have.
Arabic has been overhauled on Sense 8 and keeping material design in mind, HTC wants the market to know they’re committed to delivering the best experience.
They also say that they’re trying to get as close as to a dedicated Android experience and collaborated with Android directly to give a rebooted Android experience. HTC says they decided to trim the fat and give what Google intended. This is basically a way to countering Apple’s claims that Android is fragmented. I couldn’t help but feel a slight shot to Samsung’s bloatware problem.
The HTC’s battery clocking in at 3,000 mAh seems humble which HTC says because of its optimizations and native battery boost tech, it says it will give 2 days of battery. Their USB-C quick charge will also give 50% battery within 30 minutes of charge. A bold claim nonetheless which you can trust we’ll put to the test when our review comes out.
The major caveat however is there isn’t a 64 GB version of this device. It comes loaded with 4GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory along with expandable memory of up to 2 TB via microSD.
Cameras : The HTC has a 12 MP (HTC ultra pixel 2 ) laser autofocus, OIS, f/1.8 aperture. Pro Mode, Auto-HDR, Zoe Capture, 4K video recording with Hi-Res Audio and hyper lapse and slow motion up to 12X. This is 136% more powerful than their last model , the
The front camera has a 5MP autofocus and is now the world’s first OIS selfie cam with an ultra wide-angle lens. HTC will support a number of formats with its integration of their camera with Google Photos.
With the camera designed to launch in as little as 0.6 seconds, and a 2nd generation laser autofocus that gives you focused shots faster, it’s quick enough to even work in burst mode. All the settings are also conveniently located at your fingertips with Pro Mode still offering advanced options for more experienced photographers, including RAW format functionality. Boasting a DxOMark score of 88, this is one of the highest camera quality scores of any smartphone to date.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
I expected HTC to come back with their camera but what really got my notice is that the HTC 10 combines 4K video with the world’s first stereo 24-bit Hi-Res audio recording.
Built for audiophiles, the HTC 10 is certified for Hi-Res audio and has been designed to make music customized to your hearing. A headphone amp that delivers two times the power of a conventional headphone amp, the ability to upscale from 16-bit to 24-bit audio and high performance digital to analogue conversion combine to produce ten times lower distortion than other devices on the market. Re-engineered HTC BoomSound Hi-Fi edition speakers feature the same separated tweeter and woofer design combine with a dedicated amplifier on each speaker.
HTC have made sure that the flagship phone comes with Hi-Res audio certified inbox earphones. Featuring an 8µm thin aerospace polymer diaphragm and 70% oversized drivers, the listener will get twice the frequency range, there’s also USB-C type powered headphones. Perhaps this is a sign that we’re going to get this as the industry standard.
Acessories and Availability
The HTC 10 offers an all-new Ice View case with a semi-transparent and highly versatile single front-cover case. So when that next call or message comes in, or when you need to skip a track, or snap that perfect shot, you can do it without opening your smartphone’s case. The HTC 10 will come in two variants with different Qualcomm Snapdragon processors to cater for different market needs. They will both offer the same design, audio, camera and display, with a similar software experience and battery life.
The HTC 10 comes in four stunning color combinations: Carbon Grey, Glacier Silver, Topaz Gold and Camellia Red.
This flagship smartphone is now officially launched in the Middle East, and will be available at leading retailers from early May 2016. The HTC 10 will have initial operator exclusivity with Etisalat in the UAE and STC (Saudi Telecom Company) in KSA. It will retail at AED 2,399 and SAR 2,399.
