The HTC U11 is one of the most unique looking phones so far here in 2017.
HTC has been pushing the boundaries a little bit with this phone, with new features like
IP67 water resistance, dual stereo speakers and something new called Edge Sense where
you can interact with your phones simply by squeezing it.
I’ll try that feature out here in a second.
I’m here to test the durability of this Brilliant Black version of the U11.
I tested the previous HTC U Ultra a few months ago, and while it passed my test and is technically
still alive, it’s not going to win any durability awards.
The special sapphire edition though was pretty impressive.
It uses real sapphire crystals in the display making it essentially scratch proof.
HTC has done some pretty cool stuff lately.
Let’s see what happens to this U11.
[Intro]
When setting up the Brilliant Black HTC U11 next to my Midnight Black Galaxy S8, both
of them look pretty fantastic.
You can clearly see the coin reflecting in each of the back panels.
The psychedelic colors achieved with HTC’s optical spectrum hybrid deposition will leave
no one questioning what phone you are holding.
It is incredibly unique and eye catching.
So let’s start with the scratch test.
My Mohs picks allow us to see what the screen is made out of.
HTC is advertising Gorilla Glass 5 so we shouldn’t see any marks below a level 6 pick.
HTC has proven that it’s capable of producing sapphire screens like on the HTC U Ultra that
I showed earlier.
Sapphire wouldn’t scratch until a level 8.
And even though sapphire isn’t being used here on the U11, hopefully we get to see more
of the sapphire in the future.
As expected, the U11 scored a respectable level 6 on the scratch test, right up there
with the iPhone 7 and the Galaxy S8.
Keys and coins will have no effect on the glass, but pocket sand and other common minerals
will still scratch it, so a screen protector is never a bad idea.
The fingerprint touch pad has the same glossy feel as the screen does; it is definitely
scratch-able.
It is slightly recessed below the glass, so this level of scratching would never happen
during normal use, but it’s still good to know that even with excessive damage, the
fingerprint scanner can still sense and read my finger every single time.
The earpiece is also recessed way below the front glass.
It has the same fabric material that HTC has used in the past, and while it won’t fall
out on its own, be careful not to damage it if you ever have to clean it out, unless you
want one of these strands tickling the inside of your ear for the next ever.
Normally I prefer having a metal grill for the earpiece.
The front camera is hidden below the Gorilla Glass 5 so it is very well protected against
scratching.
The last time HTC used a plastic camera lens was on the HTC 9 that I tested a few years
ago.
There is no plastic on the rear camera lens so that’s always good.
The flash is still plastic.
Samsung managed to tuck their glass onto the glass panel, which I think looks and feels
a little bit better.
But a plastic flash is not a big issue.
There is a metal lip around the camera lens so hopefully that will keep it scratch free
far into the future.
And now the sides…pure metal.
The volume button is also metal.
And the easy-to-find-in-your-pocket textured power button is also metal.
Up here by the SIM tray and the SD card tray is metal.
But there is no headphone jack which is disappointing.
One good thing though is that the Bixby button doesn’t exist here either.
Down at the bottom we have one of the two loud speakers and the USB-C charging port.
One feature along the sides that is completely unique to this phone and no other device is
the ability to squeeze the phone and have something happen.
We’re going to find out if it still works after all my scratching.
Apparently the squeeze feature can be set to work with any function or app so I’m
going to try this with the Audible app.
I kind of wish Samsung’s dedicated Bixby button was programmable like this one.
It would make it more useful.
With just a few clicks I had the Edge Sense linked up to my Audible app and now any time
that I squeeze the phone, like a magic wand, Audible will pop up.
While we’re on the subject of magic, Audible has every single Harry Potter book in its
library and I can get you a free book and a free month of Audible if you head to my
link in the description: audible.com slash jerryrig, all lowercase, and sign up for the
free trial.
It’s way easy if you already have an Amazon account, which most people do.
You get to keep the free book even if you don’t continue the subscription, so it’s
a win-win either way.
Audible works with any phone: Android, iPhone, iPad, and even works for all three of you
Windows Phone users out there.
If Harry Potter isn’t your thing, Audible literally has an unmatched selection of audio
books to choose from.
Audible also has something called Whisper sync which can have the book read itself to
you on your phone or computer and you won’t lose your spot when you switch between devices.
It doesn’t get much more magical than that.
I grew up with the Harry Potter series as it was being released, so it will always be
one of my favorites and I’m glad I get to offer you a free copy.
The burn test lasted only 8 seconds before the pixels went black and turned off.
The 5.5 inch LCD display did completely recover though.
And now the bend test.
The U11 almost has the same basic build and design as the U Ultra with one fatal difference.
When applying pressure from the back, the flexible and squeezable metal frame allows
the device to bend more than it should and that becomes a real problem when it flexes
from the front.
And it’s dead.
This means that the HTC U11 will join its friends on my shelf of shame.
The back glass appears to be totally fine.
The back glass is resting on top of the frame so it’s adding no structural support and
was not under any stress during the flex.
The front glass, however, is shattered along with the LCD right below it.
And since my channel is all about cell phone durability and reparability, let’s analyze
and figure out why this phone didn’t survive.
Personally, I enjoy it way more when phones survive my test so I’m glad that most phones
do.
When the U Ultra visited my channel a few months ago, it survived the bend test.
This is because the U Ultra uses a flat glass panel on the screen inside of a plastic frame.
The U11 implemented a new 3D curved glass screen that is more rigid, and also left off
the plastic buffer between the glass and the metal, so when pressure is applied to the
phone, there is nowhere for the stress to go and the glass shatters.
This would not be a problem if the U11 had a more rigid frame.
Samsung had a rigid frame and curved glass and that phone survived just fine.
But the combination of curved glass and a flexible frame is a disaster in an accident
or a drop which does happen to everyone.
The glass and the LCD of the U11 will fail before the frame does, rendering the phone
inoperable as you see here.
Curved glass is much less flexible than flat glass.
A rigid case would solve this issue, but since the phone is designed to be squeezed, you
would lose the squeeze function.
If you keep this phone in your front pocket you’ll probably be fine; just don’t sit
down with it in your back pocket or you might have glass stuck in unimaginable places.
If you really want a durable HTC phone, go with last year’s HTC 10.
That was my overall top pick for the most durable phone of 2016.
I really do think it’s awesome that HTC is pushing the limits of design and creativity
with the U11.
But on a structural and durability level, I’m giving this one a fail.
The flexi frame and the no headphone jack is a step backwards in my opinion, but let
me know what you think in the comments.
Would you take a beautiful design over durability and some loss of functionality?
It’s a tough decision.
I will be performing a tear down on this thing.
I want to see what kind of pressure sensors I can find inside the frame, and since the
back panel is still intact, I’ll also try to make it transparent.
The phone may be dead, but the autopsy should be interesting.
Don’t forget to grab your free book from Audible; I’ll have the link down in the
description.
And thanks for watching.
I’ll see you around.