What's good
- Sharp and vivid display
- Unique pearlescent lustre on glass back
- Good all-round camera
What's bad
- Poor battery life
- No headphone jack
- Some random freezes and stuttering
HTC has struggled to make a name for itself in the smartphone market. Their flagship phones have caught people’s eyes due to their sleek design, but for the mid-tier market, their devices have slipped into the background. With the U Play, HTC hopes to stand out from the crowd with its design and aesthetics.
But is it enough?
The U Play offers a fairly standard smartphone look with a glass front and metal frame. What sets it apart, however, is the “Liquid Surface” glass rear that gives the back a pearlescent appearance. While reviewers compliment the overall look of the phone, calling it “stunning”, they also note that the coating makes it difficult to keep clean and hold one-handed due to its slipperiness. Luckily, the screen comes coated with Gorilla Glass 5 to help prevent shattering.
While many smartphone manufacturers are opting for larger screens, HTC has kept the U Play at a usable 5.2 inches. The LCD display offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080 for a pixel density of 428ppi. As expected, critics found the screen to be incredibly sharp. They add it also offers excellent brightness, good viewing angles and vivid colors. Trusted Reviews was one of the few that noticed a light texture of diagonal lines on it, but they add that “It’s one of those niggles you’ll notice only when looking for problems;”
While the screen is good enough for watching HD videos, the biggest drawback is its lack of a headphone jack. Although the phone comes bundled with a headset, it plugs into the USB-C port. That means you cannot listen to music with the bundled headset and charge the phone at the same time. The only solutions to this problem? Wireless headphones or a charging/3.5mm adapter.
To stay within the mid-tier price range, HTC opted for a MediaTek octa-core processor instead of Qualcomm and 4GB of RAM. Thanks to the large amount of RAM, experts found the phone fast enough for day-to-day activities. While the specs should be good enough to run almost every program smoothly, some experienced random freezes, reboots and long app load times.
The smaller 2500mAh battery provided mixed results. Some reviewers were able to get through a full day of use while others had to top it off mid-way through the day. To rub salt into the wound, it also does not come with quick charge, though the small size means it reaches full charge fairly quickly.
For shutterbugs, the 16MP rear camera offered critics good all-round performance thanks to built-in optical image stabilization. Thanks to the f/2.0 aperture, they could get good detail even in low light situations and excellent depth of field for pleasing background bokeh. In terms of video recording, it offers decent performance though it lacks 4K capture.
While a solid Android smartphone, many reviewers have a difficult time recommending the U Play due to its price tag, disappointing battery life and lack of headphone jack. Tech Radar states, “...the U Play doesn’t have that knockout punch in its locker to make people sit up and take notice.” Stuff.tv adds, “This a phone that looks and feels expensive...but the closer you get, more and more of the little things you notice chip away its appeal.”
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Roydon Cerejo, Gadgets 360The HTC U Play is a neat little device with striking looks and smooth all-round performance. It has a good display, the cameras are very capable, and battery life is not too shabby for such a small body. The phone will be going on sale in the second week of April, according to HTC. We weren't able t...
- Zayne Seah, VR-ZoneFor an average consumer, the HTC U Play is a decent choice worth considering, especially if you don’t need a lightning-quick phone, and you favour a good design and snappy camera above all else. However, if you crave more speed and an enduring battery life, you might be better off looking at o...
- Holly Brockwell, The InquirerOverall, the HTC U Play is fine. On the plus side, it looks stylish and takes good photos that look particularly bright on its HD display. However, its performance is on the slower side of average, the battery doesn't last the day, it's slippery as heck and it doesn't have a headphone port. For just...
- Holly Brockwell, V3A solid mid-range phone that seems intended to be a good-looking all-rounder without reaching flagship price tags.
- Florian Wimmer, NotebookcheckHTC's U Play is a solid mid-range smartphone, but the competition now offers more. Users who find a high-tech headset, personal assistant, and high-resolution front camera convincing arguments will get a stylish smartphone. However, they will also have to accept the mediocre battery life and slightl...
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the HTC U Play user manual here.
HTC backs up the U Play with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your U Play has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact HTC support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find HTC's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
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Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- HTC U Play Quick Start Guide (PDF)
- HTC U Play Manual (PDF)
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