14 DAY TRIAL // HTC recently unveiled a new member of the U11 family of Android-powered smartphones, the HTC U11 Life, a mid-range device that features a water- and dust-resistant design.
Following on the design patterns and innovations introduced by its bigger brother, HTC U11 Life features Edge Sense technology that lets you squeeze the device to perform certain actions, has a durable, dust- and weather-resistant up to 1 meter of freshwater for up to 30 minutes, comes with an amazing 16MP f/2.0 rear camera with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) and HDR Boost.
HTC U11 Life also comes with the HTC USonic earbuds, included in the box, which feature built-in Active Noise Cancellation and offer a great audio experience. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Octa-core 2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 processor and an Adreno 508 GPU, and runs Google's Android 7.1 "Nougat" mobile operating system, though it can be updated to Android 8.0 "Oreo."
"Building on the award-winning design and innovation of the flagship HTC U11, HTC today announced the newest member of the “U” family of smartphones, the HTC U11 life. Like its predecessor, the HTC U11 life is designed to reflect “U” – your drive, passion, creativity, and individuality – yet uniquely delivers flagship-quality features and experiences at just a fraction of a flagship’s price," said HTC in the press release.
Technical specifications, pricing and availability
HTC U11 Life sports a 5.2-inch Super LCD capacitive touchscreen with a Full HD (1080x1920 pixel resolution) and approximately 424 PPI density, and about 68.6% screen-to-body ratio. It comes in two variants, with 3 GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, as well as 4 GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. A secondary 16 MP f/2.0 front camera offers 1080p video recording, HDR, and panorama support.
Connectivity wise, the HTC U11 Life supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with WiFi Direct and Hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0 LE with A2DP, built-in GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and BDS support, NFC, USB Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, and no 3.5mm headphone jack. The fingerprint sensor is mounted on the front, and the device features gyro, accelerometer, proximity, and compass sensors.
Unfortunately, the device uses a Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery, which won't probably last one day on a single charge. We can't wait to see some benchmarks as soon as the device lands in the hands of reviewers. HTC U11 Life comes in Sapphire Blue and Brilliant Black colors and it's available for purchase in the US and Canada for $349 USD or $449 CAD from HTC's online store or T-Mobile stores.
