HTC U12 + review: setup, first impression and unboxing

This week we received two packages from HTC. The first is the HTC U12 + - even if it's a bit older, it's definitely worth it also to test it. In this article, I'll go through the setup with you, get a first impression and unpack the smartphone.

The HTC U2018 + has been on the market since May 12. The current flagship from HTC has the latest hardware inside and, according to the data sheet, is also pretty well equipped. To be honest, you don't hear much from the HTC U12 +: Time to change that. In this article my first pictures and impressions.

HTC U12 + unboxing

From the outside, the box looks pretty valuable and large when attacked. Once you have opened the box, the smartphone comes directly towards you, along with a quick charger and headphones. The HTC U12 + itself is in a film to protect against scratches. If you lift your smartphone out of the box, you will find plenty of paper in various languages ​​directly underneath. There is also a transparent silicone cover and a SIM needle for the dual SIM slot on top. The USB-C headphones also come with exchangeable earplugs. An adapter from jack to USB-C is definitely missing here, in my opinion.

HTC U12 + setup

If you start the HTC U12+ for the first time, at least with my test device, it first had to be briefly connected to the charger. The battery jumps directly from 0 to 80 Procent, for whatever reason. Immediately after the start-up process, you can select the language. After setting up your own WLAN connection and logging into the Google account, you can continue with setting up an HTC account. This should offer some advantages and store the user's habits in the cloud with "HTC Sense Companion". If you don't want that, you can easily skip this step.

The desired unlocking method is then configured. Here you have the choice between swipe, fingerprint, face recognition, pattern and PIN. I haven't been able to tell how secure the face recognition on the HTC U12+ actually isprobeer Once you have completed this fairly quick step, Edge Sense is configured. The pressure intensity when pressing the corners and the buttons of the smartphone is set here. You can start the camera or perform other quick actions by pressing it. There are also no pushable buttons on the HTC U12+, here you rely on pressure-sensitive metal buttons. In the last step you can select pre-installed apps (=advertising). If you deselect all apps here, you get the smartphone without pre-installed bloatware - pretty cool.

HTC U12 + first impression

My first impression is pretty positive. Finally a different smartphone after so much notch, triple cameras and more. Although the Edge Sense together with the non-pressable buttons is currently still quite unusual, that is guaranteed to change during the test. I was greeted on the first day of the setup by a system update, which makes the operation appear even more fluid. Compared to before, however, HTC has definitely worked on the software (I remember my HTC Desire, yes - the comparison is unfair).

The settings are also pretty much the same as stock Android and there aren't a lot of cluttered features. Occasionally you get recommendations from the "HTC Sense Companion", but they are not really annoying. How the device really convinces me in everyday life, I'll clarify in a few weeks in the detailed test report here on the blog.

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