The HTC Ultra is the newest high end flagship device from HTC.
With a premium price tag to match it’s premium looks.
But is it durable?
The HTC 10 was my choice for the most well built phone of last year.
Let’s see if this flamboyant sibling follows in the same footsteps.
[Intro]
The scratch test is first.
I preordered the normal HTC U with Gorilla Glass 5 covering the screen.
HTC did promise the USA a sapphire variant of this phone with real sapphire covering
the screen later this year.
It will be interesting to see if this actually happens, or if it was just some kind of marketing
to help promote the phone at launch.
Sapphire crystal is very difficult to manufacture so I won’t be surprised if the sapphire
version never shows up.
You can see that this Gorilla Glass 5 scratches at a level 6.
Real sapphire would resist scratching until a level 8 or 9.
If HTC does release a sapphire screen variant of this phone in the United States, I’ll
be here to check the scratch resistance of that as well.
The fingerprint scanner pad is covered in a slick rubberish plastic layer that will
not scratch easy during normal use.
But my razor blade does leave a mark.
IPhones and the Nokia 6 I tested a few days ago does have scratch proof fingerprint scanners,
so they do exist.
Luckily for the Ultra though, it still functions even with the extra damage.
The front facing 16 megapixel camera is protected by that same front screen glass, so no worries
about scratching here.
HTC was one of the few companies to use plastic on their camera lenses back with the HTC m9,
so I’m glad they stopped doing that.
The abnormally small earpiece slot feels like it’s made out of that same lightweight fabric
that the Nokia 6 had in it.
But unlike the Nokia 6, the fabric does not come out when pulled.
It would have been nice if they tossed some larger speakers in there though; it does seem
like they have the room.
Now onto the back of the phone.
This thing is definitely a fingerprint magnet.
I’ll just clean it off a little bit.
Much better.
It’s time to see what this phone is made of.
The glossy jet back iPhone 6 was made from aluminum, and while this phone mimics that
same reflective mirror-like finish, this Ultra is made from glass, so my razor blade doesn’t
leave any marks on the back panel.
Nor does my razor affect the logos; so those won’t be wearing off at all either.
The rear 12 megapixel camera is scratch proof as well, and yes, there are less megapixels
on the back camera than there are on the front; weird, I know, but HTC has always done weird
things with their camera megapixels.
The camera bump is made from metal.
The flash is plastic.
And try not to scratch the black plastic portion or it could mess up your auto focus.
I always have a few comments on every video wondering what happens if I take a level 9
pick to the glass of a phone.
Remember, a level 9 pick is one step below a diamond.
So let me tell you a story about a little guy that lives in a blue world.
And all day and all night, and everything he sees is just blue, like him.
Inside and outside.
Blue his house, with a blue little window.
And a blue corvette.
And everything is blue for him and himself.
And you want to know why this little guy is blue?
Because there’s no headphone jack on this phone.
On this super massive, thick device, HTC did not want to scrounge together the extra pennies
it takes to add a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack to the exterior.
And that decision alone helps plop this device in the list of phones that I will not be using
as a daily driver.
Someday the time will come for no headphone jacks, but today is not that day.
Let me know in the comments: would you buy a phone with no headphone jack?
Maybe I’m alone in my decision.
If we move to the frame of the phone, the top is definitely made from metal.
And we can follow the metal sides all the way down to the base of the phone near the
USBC charging port.
They stick with the metal theme down here as well.
So at least all the materials are premium all the way around the device.
Even the volume and power buttons are metal.
The 5.7 inch 1440p IPS LCD lasted about 10 seconds under the heat from my lighter.
I’m positive that this test someday will be relevant at some point, but until then
we can just appreciate that the IPS pixels recover completely from the flame.
And now the bend test.
Remember the HTC 10 was the winner of my smart phone durability award last year.
I can tell right away though that the Ultra is not going to follow that same rigid path.
The Ultra has more relation to the soft iPhone 6’s.
It’s important to note that the back glass would not be cracking right now.
The only reason it is cracking is because I directly introduced the flaws by scoring
the glass with my level 9 pick, but it’s also important to notice that the glass on
the HTC U does not contribute anything to the structural integrity of the device.
The glass is resting on top of the frame, unlike the Galaxy S7 where the back Samsung
glass is inside the metal frame, helping make the phone more rigid.
So while this phone survives the bend test overall, it still flexes like a soggy Twinkie
and will not be in the running for the 2017 durability awards.
It’s a pretty good looking device.
I do like the color, but as for me and myself, it is not the daily driver material that I’m
looking for.
I hope you enjoyed this durability test.
I’ll just be listening to music while I pull bits of glass out of my fingers for the
next ever.
Thanks for watching.
I’ll see you around.