Our quick take
The alternatives to consider
HTC U11 Life - 4.0 / 5
- Best smartphones 2018: The best phones available to buy today Which is the best mid-range phone under £400?
Premium design: oh, shiny!
- Acrylic Liquid Surface finish IP67 water and dust resistance Front-facing fingerprint scanner/home button 149.1 x 72.9 x 8.1mm; 142g
No 18:9 screen, but no matter
- 5.2-inch Super LCD, 16:9 aspect ratio 1920 x 1080 pixels (423ppi)
Middling power functions just fine
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, 4GB RAM 32GB storage + microSD card slot
Software, feature quirks and so-so battery life
- Android One (means stock Android 8.0 Oreo) Edge Sense “squeeze” function No 3.5mm headphone jack USB-C port incompatible with third-party adapters 2600mAh battery with Quick Charge
Cameras
- Single 16MP rear camera, f/2.0 lens 16MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 lens Phase-detection autofocus (PDAF)
To recap
Overall, the HTC U11 Life is a logical mid-level reflection of its already very capable flagship bigger brother. It’s more attractive than some of its nearest competition, such as the Moto X4, while offering dust and water-resistance that few others can at this price point.
