HTC U Ultra release date, specs, price news: flagship smartphone features secondary screen and AI assistant but no headphone jack

Georgia Gana Thursday, January 12, 2017

A promotional image for the HTC U Ultra | Twitter/HTC

HTC officially introduced its newest flagship device, the U Ultra, during its recently concluded press event. The HTC U Ultra is part of the Taiwanese mobile phone manufacturer's newest U family of smartphones that will be arriving in the coming months.

The HTC U Ultra features a 5.7-inch super LCD 5 display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and a pixel density of 515-pixels per inch. There is also a 2.05-inch secondary display on top with a resolution of 160 x 1,040 pixels. The screen is equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for added protection. In terms of dimensions, it is 162.41 x 79.79 x 7.99 mm and weighs 170 grams.

The recently unveiled device is powered by a 2.15 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 821 processor and the Adreno 530 graphics card with 4 GB of random-access memory (RAM). When it comes to built-in storage, there will be two variants: one with 64 GB and the other with 128 GB. Both models will have the option for expanded memory via a microSD card slot.

The high-end smartphone is equipped with a 12-megapixel (MP) UltraPixel 2 rear camera with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, laser autofocus and dual-tone flash. The main camera is able to capture 4K videos with 3D audio and slow-motion videos at 720p and 120 frames per second (fps). HTC also recognizes the important of high-quality selfies with the inclusion of a larger 16-megapixel camera on the front of the device.

The HTC U Ultra is preinstalled with the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system (OS) and features HTC Sense Companion, a built-in artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant that learns the user's personal preferences over time. Other notable features include a fingerprint sensor, a 3,000 mAh battery and a USB Type-C port with Quick Charge 3.0 capability for fast charging.

Unfortunately, just like the Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, HTC has also opted to remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack from the U Ultra.

HTC's newest flagship features a sleek liquid surface design and will be available in four colors: Brilliant Black, Sapphire Blue, Cosmetic Pink and Ice White.

The HTC U Ultra is slated to be released in the first quarter of 2017. Pricing and availability per region will be announced at a later date.