HTC U12 Life: My review
A TEST REPORT from David Haydl 
on December 08, 2018, 11:55 | 4 comments
HTC already had a mid-range device in the U series last year, the HTC U11 Life. This has existed since IFA 2018 HTC U12 Life, the successor. My experience with the smartphone.
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Unboxing and initial setup
The HTC press company sent me the U12 Life in its own press packaging. This is dark blue and shows the name of the device on the front. When I opened the lid, I immediately saw the smartphone in the middle recess. In the two boxes to the right there is a power supply unit and a USB-C cable. The packaging that the HTC U12 Life usually comes in looks like that of the des HTC U12 +, which editor-in-chief and my colleague David Wurm already unpacked, similar.
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- HTC sent me the U12 Life in its own press packaging (picture: TechnikNews)
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- The packaging contains the smartphone, a charging cable and a power supply unit (picture: TechnikNews)
The initial setup of the mid-range smartphone is very easy. You choose your own language, enter your Google account, log in to HTC, if you have such an account, and set up the desired unlocking method - those are the essentials. Overall, the setup should not take more than 30 minutes.
Back with an unusual design
The HTC U12 Life is made of plastic (to my amazement) and comes in two colors: dark blue and pink. The back of the smartphone has a pretty peculiar texture to the back. The lower part is fluted and a slightly smaller upper part is just made of plastic and reflects a bit of the light when the sun shines on the back. The whole thing looks almost like the first Pixel from Google. The fingerprint sensor unlocks the device as soon as the finger is placed on it.
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- The back looks very similar to that of Google's first pixel (Image: TechnikNews)
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- The display is good enough for the price (picture: TechnikNews)
The more interesting the back, the more boring the front with the 18: 9 display. This is six inches in size, has a resolution of FHD + (1080 × 2160 pixels) and is good enough for the price. It's roughly on par with that of the Honor 8X. There is no notch.
Good performance with Android One
In the Prozessor used HTC for the Snapdragon 636. There are also four gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage for apps, photos and other important data. The performance of the mid-range device in everyday use is very good. Everything is buttery smooth here. However, in games such as Asphalt 9, the U12 Life does start to sweat a bit.
The software runs Android One, which is based on Android 8.1, with HTC's Sense UI. I liked this very much because it is very similar to Stock Android. The battery is 3600mAh and thanks to Quick-Charge it should be able to be recharged halfway in 40 minutes, which I was able to experience. The screen on time is around four hours.
Who is this smartphone for?
The HTC U12 Life definitely has its raison d'être, even if this smartphone is not intended for everyone. It offers a solid performance in everyday life and is also a faithful companion there. Even playing games occasionally is not Proproblem, as long as they are not too complex. In my opinion, however, heavy users will be more satisfied with a better equipped smartphone, such as the HTC U12+, for which a test report will also be published.
Prices and availability
The HTC U12 Life is available in the named variants from HTC direct, from Amazon and from some retailers. The RRP is 270 euros.
Thank you HTC for providing the HTC U12 Life.
Not a word to the camera ?!
Hi Hannes,
As I said, it is only a field report, because I didn't manage my time with the device well enough (shame on me) and therefore didn't have time for some features.
Regards
David Haydl from TechnikNews
What about price / performance? Is it good or bad?
From my point of view, the Honor 8X is better. Android One runs on the U12 Life, but it is slower in everyday use. In addition, there is no date from HTC (as far as I know) when the U12 Life will get Android Pie.
Regards
David Haydl from TechnikNews