Hands On with the HTC U20 5G
Purchase Price: $459.00
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The HTC U11 was the last HTC phone we reviewed and as a correlation, it was also really the last relevant phone the Taiwanese company produced into the international market (Yes there was a U12 line, but everyone ignores its existence). Fast forward to a new decade and many people probably don’t even know HTC is still in the mobile market. This is the HTC U20 5G and it’s HTC’s highest end current phone. What exactly is the value of the U20 in the modern era of smartphones? Let’s unbox this and find out.
A Quick Glance
Released at the tail end of 2020 during a trying year for the industry, the U20 isn’t a phone you can get in North America like in the old days. Crazy to think that HTC outlasted LG in the smartphone game though. Anyway, even though this is HTC’s top of the line phone, it’s a mid-ranger through and through. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip powers this phone and slightly edges the Snapdragon 665 on the only other HTC produced phone, the Desire 20 Pro. That spec sheet hierarchy makes this the de facto top dog for HTC. 8 GB of ram alongside 256 GB of storage accompany the SD765G to round out a rather solid listing. There’s SD card support, USB-C 18W fast charging and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor to attribute to the functionality of this device.
What stands out immediately about the U20 is the striking build quality when you first pull the phone out of the box. HTC still knows how to craft a phone that has the precision of premium feel and clean aesthetic. Compared to when most of us left HTC back in the days of the squarish U11, the U20 has a modernized body shape with its 20:9 aspect ratio. This means the phone is quite tall. It’s actually taller than the most recent mid-ranger I reviewed, the Sharp Aquos Sense 4 Plus, which I actually felt was a tad too tall as it was. I’m 5’8 with average proportioned hands and this phone is a good fingernail’s length longer than my entire hand.
Through the Lenses
For $459, HTC has thrown the standardized suite of 4 camera sensors onto the rear of the U20. We have the usual suspects with a 48 MP f/1.8 wide camera, a 8 MP f/2.2 ultrawide, a 2 MP f/2.4 macro and a 2 MP f/2.4 depth sensor. Video shoots up to 4K@30fps. Pretty much along the lines of industry standards all across the board here. We’ll need some time to process how the camera performs and will report back in our full review.
Long removed from the Boomsound glory days, we now are relegated to a single bottom firing speaker that from first impressions sound weak and muffled. While the sound isn’t too impressive, the 6.8 inch 1080 x 2400 p IPS display supplies plenty of opportunities to supply for a quality entertainment platform.
Additional Notes
Running Android 10 with a near stock experience, we’re a version back with no sign of 11 at the moment. While the number 11 is missing here, a promising number on the U20 that is present is 5,000. This phone has a gigantic 5,000 mAh battery. I’m quite excited and confident this phone will last all day with ease. There’s also 5G capabilities on this phone, but the bands don’t match up with GSM networks here in the USA.
I’m excited to have an HTC phone in the studio again. I can already see certain things here that I know I’ll enjoy using. All of the other X-factors will just have to be explored with everyday usage!
Alex
Caught in between the conundrum of his fascination with retro and the future, Alex has a very unique taste in technology. Never one to follow trends like his millennial peers yet constantly desiring to get ahead of the curve, he sees technology like he does his other love: comic books. Always looking for the best value or a hidden gem, his collector mindset reflects on some of his favorite gadgets: the Moto X (2015), HTC U11 and the Google Pixelbook. If there’s a good tech deal out there, Alex is on the hunt!