HTC U12+ / U12 Plus

Takes great day and night photos ; Strong audio ; Good for those who hate the notch

Terrible ‘buttons’ that make the phone unusable at times ; Big and heavy without having exceptional battery life ; Screen not as good as competing OLEDs ; Edge Sense has issues

The HTC U12 Plus is far from the slimmest phone around, which for me isn’t an issue if the battery life were to impress. Sadly, it isn’t quite as good as expected.

Great display and audio ; One of the best cameras around ; Solid performance with the latest mobile chip

Terrible and frustrating pressure-sensitive power and volume keys ; Not quite as responsive as other flagships ; Front-facing dual camera isn’t great

Excellent performance ; Daylong battery life ; Strong camera ; Great sound

Overly sensitive digital buttons ; Sense UI is dull, lots of bloatware ; Display has poor viewing angles

The HTC U12 Plus is a good phone, but frustrating digital buttons and quirky software throws it all under the bus.

Clean and premium 3D glass design ; Very strong internal hardware suite ; Useful Edge Sense 2 controls ; Dual LTE SIM card slot ; IP68 waterproof rating ; Dual-camera secured face unlock ; Full-featured, powerful camera system

Haptic buttons need another pass ; Battery life is disappointingly standard ; Screen brightness is so-so ; Lack of carriers

The slim-bezel design is a big improvement over the U11. ; The front and rear cameras are very good.

The buttons, my god, the buttons. ; The bloated Sense UI makes the phone feel slower than it should. ; The glass back, while pretty, is slippery and doesn't support wireless charging.

Two kinds of people will buy an HTC U12+: unabashed HTC fans who still think the company makes better phones than Samsung, and Verizon or T-Mobile customers who get an offer they can’t refuse. For everyone else, the U12+ is a conundrum. On one hand,...

Great audio ; Strong design ; Good low-light camera

Battery falls short again ; Volume buttons are just... wrong ; Touch-sensitive sides fail to impress again

While we thoroughly applaud HTC for trying to be innovative with this handset, in a smartphone world that sorely needs differentiation, it doesn't mean that we have to like what's on show. In the same way that we don't need our phones to be able to...

Attractive design. Fast processor. Sharp front and rear cameras. Useful squeeze sensor.

Unresponsive side buttons. No headphone jack or included dongle. Heavy UI layer.

The HTC U12+ is solid addition to the current crop of flagship handsets, but it doesn't stand out. Starting at $800, it's priced to compete with the very best, and it succeeds in its gorgeous design, sharp display, and excellent camera performance. But...

Camera produces sharp, noise-free images ; Narrow design makes for an ergonomic shape ; Attractive, distinctive color options

The solid-state buttons are a disaster ; Still no headphone jack, and now there’s no adapter either ; With glass on both sides, slippery to handle ; Software is full of little and big annoyances

The questions about HTC’s future as a phone maker will persist, but they would have been much more vexing had the company produced a compelling phone with the U12 Plus. Instead, HTC has given us plenty of its signature design, spec, and camera...

Solid build ; Fast and smooth performance ; Vibrant screen ; Good camera ; Plenty of useful (and quirky) features

Video and audio performance could be more exciting ; Overly sensitive lock/home button

The U12+ won’t rock the smartphone world, but its ‘squeezable’ features and decent camera are worth a punt