HTC U12 Plus: How To Preorder And 4 More Things To Know

HTC has revealed its new 2018 flagship, the HTC U12+, and pre-orders for the Android smartphone are kicking off today. You won't find the U12+ in carrier stores, mind you, with HTC opting instead to offer its new phone SIM-free and unlocked. Read on for what you need to know.

In the US, HTC is offering three versions of the U12+ – two different colors, and two memory sizes. The most affordable is the 64GB U12+ which is available for $799.99 in either Translucent Blue or Ceramic Black. You get a microSD slot, of course, if you want to add to that internal capacity.

Alternatively, there's the 128GB U12+ version. That's only available in Translucent Blue, however, and is priced at $849. All of the pre-order phones will ship on June 7, 2018.

...but don't read too much into that. In a growing sea of very-similar-looking full screen phone designs, squashing the front-facing camera, earpiece, and other sensors into a notch cut-out, the U12+ sticks with an uninterrupted rectangular 6-inches. Considering how controversial the notch is among some phone-users, that might well work in its favor.

HTC U12+ hands-on

The panel itself is a bright, high-resolution 2880 x 1440 Super LCD 6, unlike the OLED many of HTC's rivals are opting for. Don't be too surprised, though, if down the line HTC gets onboard the notch train. The decision to go notchless on the U12+ "is not a statement," Nigel Newbyhouse, HTC VP of Product, told SlashGear, but instead a reflection of the display supply chain. Indeed, Newbyhouse hinted that falling notched-panel prices could mean cheaper HTC phones with that design in the future.

Last year's U11 saw HTC wed its fortunes to Sprint, and it's fair to say the company saw some criticism for that decision. For the U12+ you shouldn't expect to see the phone in carrier stores, but HTC has flipped the network situation on its head. Now, there are versions of the U12+ for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

HTC is selling the phone unlocked and SIM-free, opting for direct sales rather than through the carrier's retail network. That, Newbyhouse tells us, is by design: the costs involved in securing a spot on store shelves are considerable. The likely result would be a more expensive phone.

Instead, the U12+ comes fully tested by each of the three carriers. You can get carrier-specific units in 64 GB form, or fully unlocked versions – compatible with all three networks – in 64 GB or 128 GB form.

Unlike in previous years, HTC's 2018 flagship arrives with all the latest specs. That means a Snapdragon 845 chipset and 6 GB of RAM, no matter which version of the U12+ you buy. There are now four cameras – two on the front, two on the back – for more effective portrait modes and, with the rear shooters, a 2x optical zoom.

Edge Sense 2, meanwhile, builds on the pressure sensitive sides of the U11. There's a new gesture, double-tap: on the U12+ that defaults to shrinking the interface into one-handed mode. The phone is even smart enough to recognize in which hand you're holding it, and shift the reduced UI to the appropriate side of the display.

This time around, though, HTC has extended the pressure sensors further up the sides of the phone. In fact, while the volume and power buttons on the U12+ may look like regular keys, they're actually fixed and rely on the Edge Sense 2 system too, complete with a little haptic buzz to give the feel of a real press.

It helps HTC seal the U12+ up, too, so you get IP68 water and dust resistance. Still no 3.5mm headphone jack – that ship has sailed – but HTC includes its noise-cancelling USB-C USonic headphones in the box. Oh, and Verizon subscribers will be pleased to hear there's support for both the carrier's LTE bands this time around, where the U11 could only handle one.

HTC has addressed plenty of the criticisms we and others had about last year's U11 and U11+, but that's not to say the U12+ ticks every possible box. If you're looking for wireless charging, for instance, that's still missing. Even though it would be easier for HTC to include since it switched from unibody metal designs to glass-backed phones, it's still counting on fast wired charging to get people up and running quicker.

Frustratingly, even though the U12+ supports Quick Charge 4.0, HTC is only including a QC 3.0 AC adapter in the box. You should definitely budget another $24.99 for this well-reviewed QC 4.0 AC adapter to boost your charging times even more.

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