If you thought the race for best Android smartphone was cut and dried now the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and LG G5 are out, think again, as HTC has just thrown its brand-new HTC 10 into the ring as the fourth major flagship vying for your wallet this year.
That's right, this year HTC has dropped the 'One M' branding from its latest top-end smartphone and simply gone with the number 10, signalling a clear break from the One M9 and One M8 that came before it. In fact, the HTC 10 almost has more in common with the second flagship HTC released last year, the One A9, as its matt, metal unibody, circular rear camera and slim antenna lines across the top and bottom of the phone look almost identical to its A series sibling.
Design
However, you'll quickly notice one fairly major difference between the A9 and HTC 10, and that's those huge chamfered edges. HTC says this is the most refined unibody chassis it's ever made, and I'd be inclined to agree, as its numerous angles play with the light no matter which way you look at it. The Glacier Silver model shows it best, showing at least three different shades of grey when placed face down on a table, but the Topaz Gold and Carbon Grey are equally handsome in their own way.
Whichever model you pick, though, it's certainly more eye-catching than the LG G5, not to mention a lot smarter-looking than the perpetually grubby glass rears of the Galaxy S7 handsets. HTC hasn't stopped there, either, as there's even another small chamfer on the front of the phone as it rolls into its 2.5D glass panel.
Measuring just 3mm at its thinnest point and stretching to a little over 9mm at its thickest, the HTC 10 feels great in the hand. It's both curved and angular at the same time, providing a superb level of grip without feeling too sharp or uncomfortable in the process. HTC's made a return to capacitive buttons for the 10 as well, which is something the One A9 lacked even though its front fingerprint scanner doubled up as a home button.
You'll still find a fingerprint scanner on the HTC 10's home button – much like Samsung's one on the Galaxy S7 – but tap either side or it and you'll see the backlit Back and Recents button spring into action, giving you more screen real estate for your apps and videos.
HTC promises its fingerprint scanner is its best yet, too, claiming it will unlock your phone in just 0.2 seconds. I didn't have a chance to test this during my brief time with the phone, but it will be interesting to see how it compares with Samsung and LG's efforts once I get one in for a proper test.
Specs and display
One thing the HTC 10 isn't short on is raw processing power, as it's got one of Qualcomm's brand-new quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 820 chips inside it. It's also got 4GB of RAM, putting neck-and-neck with the LG G5. This means we should hopefully see similar speeds in our benchmark tests once review samples arrive, but we'll have to wait and see if its internal cooling structure makes it as efficient as its competitors. It also comes with 32GB of storage, which can be expanded by microSD card up to 2TB (not that you can buy a 2TB microSD card yet, but at least it has a bit of futureproofing for when they do finally arrive).
If that wasn't enough, HTC's finally increased the screen's overall pixel count to 2,560x1,440 for the HTC 10, giving its 5.2in display a massive pixel density of 564ppi. That's higher than the LG G5, which has the same resolution but stretched across a 5.3in screen, but slightly less than the Galaxy S7, as this packs the same number of pixels into a smaller 5.1in screen. In practice, though, you're not going to be able to tell the difference.
Android 6.0 & Sense UI
One thing you will notice, however, is just how uncluttered the HTC 10's home screen has become. HTC said it had made a big effort to remove duplicated apps this year, and it's been working together with Google to help make its Sense UI more intuitive than ever before.
For instance, instead of having a separate HTC Gallery app in addition to Google Photos, or the HTC camera as well as the Google Camera apps, you'll now just see the HTC Camera and Google Photos app. The only exception is HTC's Mail app, as the company still believes it's better than Google's Gmail app. Still, having fewer apps to deal with is certainly a step in the right direction, and it should hopefully free up a little bit of extra space at the same time.
Otherwise, HTC's Sense Home interface is still present and correct, and its lashings of vanilla Android still persist in the notification tray and main settings menu. The Theme Store makes a welcome return, too, although this time you'll be able to create even more bespoke home screens thanks to HTC's new Freestyle Layer.
This is a complete departure from Android's traditional grid-based layout, and HTC claims you'll be able to position icons and sticker-like shortcuts anywhere you like, allowing you to create your very own personalised picture menu. App labels can be toggled on and off, too, and you'll even be able to create secret app shortcuts that friends and family wouldn't necessarily know about from a quick glance at the screen.
IceView cases
Speaking of customisation, HTC will be releasing brand-new cases for the HTC 10, so say goodbye to DotView and hello to IceView. Instead of opting for a retro, pixellated look, the semi-transparent covers of HTC's new IceView cases can now use the screen's full resolution to show smooth, rounded graphics of the time, date and weather, as well as app notifications, phone call histories and entire text messages.
You'll also be able to double swipe down on the IceView case to launch the camera, allowing you to jump straight into action without removing the cover first. It might not be quite as convenient as the always-on displays of its competitors, but there's no denying it's a welcome upgrade over the old DotView cases.
Battery life
HTC's promising two days of battery life from its 3,000mAh battery, which is good news after the abysmal battery scores I got from its predecessor. Of course, I'll have to wait and see how this figure stacks up once I get one in for testing, but even if it doesn't quite match HTC's estimate, its Quick Charge 3.0 technology should mean quick and easy top-ups throughout the day.
In fact, HTC says you should be able to get 50% charge on the HTC 10 in just 30 minutes, which would put it side by side with the LG G5. The Quick Charge charger comes in the box, too, although you will need to remember to take the cable with you, as the HTC 10 has, you guessed it, a USB-C port instead of regular, old micro USB.
^ The HTC 10 (right) has a USB-C port, unlike the One M9 (left), which has regular micro USB
Camera
Another weakness HTC's hoping to address with the HTC 10 is the rear camera. Despite having a 20-megapixel sensor last year, the M9's wonky exposure algorithm meant it was easily one of the worst parts of the entire phone, putting it at a severe disadvantage compared to the LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy S6. Thankfully, HTC promises this has been improved for the HTC 10, although I'll have to reserve judgment until I can compare it side by side with its rivals.
The camera certainly sounds promising on paper, as it now has a 12-megapixel sensor – dubbed the UltraPixel 2 sensor – and comes with an f/1.8 aperture lens, optical image stabilisation (OIS), laser autofocus and huge 1.55um pixels. That's larger than even the S7's 1.4um pixels, so the HTC 10 should theoretically outperform it when it comes to challenging low-light photography.
In a world first, HTC's also brought OIS to the front 5-megapixel camera as well. This also has an f/1.8 aperture on top of an 85 degree wide angle lens and large 1.34um pixels. As a result, it should be able to take steadier, brighter selfies and front-facing videos than its main competitors. The app itself has also been redesigned to help make it even simpler to use. According to HTC, it's able to launch in just 0.6 seconds, and the ability to capture photos in RAW is now front and centre in its new UI.
Boomsound Hi-fi Edition
Of course, it wouldn't be an HTC launch without at least some mention of improved audio performance, and the HTC 10 doesn't disappoint, as it's the first handset to come with HTC's brand-new Boomsound Hi-Fi Edition speakers. With a miniature tweeter at the top of the phone and a tiny subwoofer at the bottom, it's been specifically designed to mimic a traditional speaker set-up, and there's even a separate amplifier for each driver.
^ HTC said that every HTC 10 would come with a pair of hi-res audio headphones in the box
The HTC 10 also supports 24-bit Hi-res audio, and can upscale regular audio as well – which is just as well when HTC's bundling in a pair of Hi-res earphones with every single handset. If that wasn't enough, HTC's also upgrading its HTC Connect streaming service with full native Apple Airplay support, making it even easier to share your music around your home.
Release date and price
So when can you get your hands on the HTC 10? We don't know for sure just yet, but HTC's said it should start rolling out from next month. At most, that's just three short weeks away, but we'll update this article with more information as soon as it becomes available. The only remaining piece of the puzzle is how much the HTC 10 will cost. Again, HTC's keeping quiet on price for now, but it shouldn't be long before UK networks start opening up their pre-order programmes, so make sure you check back soon to see how the HTC 10 compares against the Galaxy S7 and LG G5.
