The HTC U24 Pro has been announced, representing a second consecutive attempt to resurrect a once esteemed smartphone brand.
This time last year brought the launch of the HTC U23 Pro, which promised the return of one of the early smartphone champions. In the event, it turned out to be a fairly unspectacular mid-range smartphone with one or two noteworthy specifications, such as wireless charging and IP67 certification.
Still, it did enough to pique our interest, and we’re excited to see how the newly announced HTC U24 Pro can take things forward for this storied brand.
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HTC is laying on a larger 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED display (up from 6.7-inch) with 3D curved glass edges rather than the U23 Pro’s flat screen. Together with an angled aluminium frame and an eye-catching rear that features a “proprietary blend of optical grating, heat compression, and sandblasting”, it’s certainly more of a looker than the U23 Pro.
HTC has retained the IP67 rating and the 3.5mm headphone jack, too.
Another improvement this time around is in the photographic department, where we get a dedicated 50MP telephoto camera to accompany a 50MP main sensor (with 130% more light intake) and 8MP ultra-wide. Suffice to say, such a telephoto provision is not common in the mid-range market. There’s a 50MP camera around front, too
A more modern and powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 runs the show, offering a 60% boost in performance per watt and 50% faster graphical performance. This is accompanied by 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, with a microSD slot also included.
We’re a little worried that HTC has stuck with a slightly weedy 4,600mAh battery, as stamina was not the HTC U23 Pro’s strong point. However, we’re encouraged that it’s boosted the supported charging speed from 30W to 60W. You still get 15W wireless charging support, too, which was a stand out spec before.
HTC is once again tying things in with its modern VR focus through the VIVERSE app, which uses AI motion capture technology to create virtual avatars.
It’s looking to be a solid improvement from last year’s effort, and it all comes at a lower price of £469 too. Pre-orders start on 24 June, with an initial offer bundling in a free wireless charger.
