Today, we are testing the HTC U Play – a smaller and more affordable variant in the U series. HTC has never been very conscious about pricing its premium smartphones. So if we use the word affordable, it is associated with the U Ultra. Rs 39,990 is a great price, especially when you can get Samsung’s excellent Galaxy S7 (Review) for a little more.
Does U Play just look beautiful or does it also deliver performance? Let’s find out.
HTC U Play design and build quality
Personally, we’re not a fan of big-screen smartphones. With a 5.2-inch display, we liked the HTC U Play for everyday use.
HTC has come up with yet another great smartphone when it comes to design and aesthetics. The smartphone looks stunning from every angle but keeping it clean is a pain. Though the phone is easy to use with one hand, its non-slip rear makes it a challenge to hold the phone. We got a black variant for review but the phone is also available in Sapphire Blue, Snow & White and Make-Up Powder Pink colour variants on HTC India’s online store.
The 5.2-inch Super LCD display on the phone comes with Gorilla Glass protection and comes with a full HD resolution. The screen has a density of 428 ppi. The brightness is bright and the viewing angles are also very good. The colors are well saturated without any blurriness. The color temperature can be adjusted according to your needs by going to the Settings app. While the display is sharp, we noticed a difference in the color when we shook the phone a little. There is a notification LED above the screen and backlit Android navigation buttons are provided near the home button. The fingerprint sensor is integrated in the home button itself.
The HTC U Play is a slim device measuring 7.99mm thick and weighs just 145 grams. The metal edges of the phone provide a good grip. We feel the power and volume buttons could have been better placed to make them easier to reach.
The phone has a USB Type-C port and mono speaker grill at the bottom. A hybrid SIM slot is provided at the top. The phone’s storage can be expanded up to 2 TB via microSD card. The rear camera in the phone is slightly protruding outwards but not too much. Like the U Ultra, this phone has a 3.5mm headphone socket.
Overall, the U Play is easier to operate than the U Ultra while being just as premium. In the retail box, you will find a Type-C cable, a plastic case, a 10 watt power adapter, a SIM ejector tool, a microfibre cloth and a Usonic headset.
HTC U Play specifications and features
The HTC U Play is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor. The phone has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. We don’t expect a MediaTek chipset in a flagship-level product and this isn’t a flagship-level processor. So we are a little surprised that HTC is using this processor. The Moto M, which costs Rs 16,000, also comes with a faster Helio P15 processor. But this processor is still fine for everyday activities. In benchmarks, we got 10-15 percent lower performance than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with similar performance.
Talking about other specifications, this phone has features like 4.2, dual-band Wi-Fi AC, NFC, USB-OTG, GPS and GLONASS for connectivity. The phone does not have FM radio. Apart from this, 4G VoLTE support is also available. There is also a gyroscope and a magnetic sensor.
The U Play runs Android Marshmallow, which is a big ask, especially considering its bigger variant runs Android Nougat. There’s also a watered-down version of HTC’s Sense UI that was seen on the HTC 10 last year. HTC has replaced a lot of its own apps with Google’s suite of apps. For instance, the gallery has been replaced with the Photos app, while audio is handled by Play Music.
First, you can access HTC’s BlinkFeed news reader by swiping right on the homescreen. And there are a number of other apps preinstalled like Under Armour Record, Themes and News Republic. HTC has introduced a new UI assistant to differentiate its U series. When we first set up the HTC U Play, we didn’t get any prompts to use this feature. And until we got the app, we weren’t sure if this feature was on the phone or not.
HTC U Play performance
The phone’s performance is excellent due to clean software and large RAM. Multitasking is very good in U Play and we never faced any problem while doing normal tasks and running social apps on the phone. We were also able to play games on the phone quite well. However, there was some problem in some select graphics games.
The upper part of the rear gets hot while using the camera and charging. But during normal use, the problem of heating was not seen. The call quality of the phone is good and the sound from the earpiece is also good even in noisy places. The fingerprint sensor also works well and recognizes the fingerprint quickly.
Media playback is not too bad as the phone had no problem playing full HD videos. The phone also played high-bitrate files smoothly. The phone is not capable of playing 4K videos due to the processor. The loudspeaker is decent for alerts but not the best for media files. The U Play comes with a Type-C Usonic headset whose performance can be read in detail by going to the performance section of the HTC U Ultra.
The overall performance of both cameras is good, although we would have been happier with video features like slow-motion. The 16-megapixel rear camera comes with PDAF and optical image stabilization (OIS) and aperture f/2.0 and captures photos with good detail even in low light. Auto HDR mode helps in increasing detail in backlit scenes. Due to the wide aperture, close-up shots get good depth-of-field. The other shooting mode is Zoe Camera – which can record photos and a three-second video. Apart from this, there is also Panorama and Pro mode. In low light, there is a lack of detail in landscape photos but close-up shots are better.
The quality of the recorded videos is good, but the phone does not have a 4K video recording option. The U Play has a 16-megapixel fixed focus front camera with an aperture of f/2.0. Selfies from the phone look good and the selfie panorama mode allows you to take group pictures with multiple people. The front camera also records videos up to 1080p, and has a screen flash, timer.
HTC has packed a 2500mAh battery in the U Play. But in our HD video loop test, the battery only lasted for 8 hours and 44 minutes. With normal use, we were able to use the phone for a full day, which is not bad. The 10W adapter that comes with the phone does not support fast charging. The phone has HTC’s Extreme Power Saving mode which disables background connectivity features and lets you use basic features like calling and messaging.
Our verdict
The HTC is a good looking device with good build quality and overall performance. The phone has a good display, great cameras and long battery life. The phone is available for purchase. We haven’t found any information on when the phone will receive the Android Nougat update, but it is expected to arrive soon.
As for the drawbacks, the high price and a budget processor bring down the rating. At Rs. 39,990, it’s hard to recommend the HTC U Play. Paying a little more than that, you can opt for a flagship smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or other options like the Moto Z (Review).