HTC 10 review

PROS

• Iconic design
• Fantastic version of Android
• Great audio quality
• Best selfie camera on the maket
• Really fast charging

CONS

• Some camera niggles
• Slight pinkish tinge to the display

KEY FEATURES

• 5.2-inch quad-HD display
• Snapdragon 820
• 4GB RAM
• 32/64GB internal storage
• USB-C
• 3,000 mAh battery
• Android 6.0.1 & Sense 7.0
• 12 UltraPixel camera w/OIS
• 5 UltraPixel selfie camera w/OIS
• Manufacturer: HTC
• Review Price: £569.99/6000MAD.

WHAT IS THE HTC 10?

After the frankly awful HTC One M9, the Taiwanese brand went back to the drawing board and, well, it worked. The HTC 10 more than matches up to the iPhone 6S in looks, and it doesn’t fall behind the Samsung Galaxy S7 when it comes to specs.

HTC 10 – DESIGN

First off, this phone is clearly made from metal – and proud of it. The back is cool to the touch, with an elegant curve that helps it sit comfortably in your hand. This curve flows into some heavily chamfered edges that add a bit of much-needed flair.

Along the side you’ve got the usual combination of a volume rocker and sleep/wake button, the latter of which is bevelled and easily identifiable even when the phone is in your pocket.

There’s now a capacitive home key sitting below the display that isn’t so much of a button but a touchpad. Like pretty much every worthwhile Android phone this year it features a fingerprint scanner inside, but coming from the Galaxy S7 it feels strange not to get get that satisfying ‘click’ when I press down.

It’s the precision, though, that wins it for HTC. Everything is symmetrical, with the headphone jack, camera sensor and USB-C port on the bottom, all in line with each other.

HTC 10 – SCREEN

It’s grown slightly to 5.2-inches, but the bigger upgrade is the resolution. It’s much more pixel dense now, thanks to the 2560 x 1440 quad-HD resolution. It’s a mightily impressive panel, though as it's LCD – 5th-generation LCD, to be precise – it does lack a little of the vibrancy of Samsung’s Super AMOLED screen. It’s not far off, and it’s hard to notice unless you have both phones sat next to each other.

The HTC 10 is missing a feature both the LG G5 and Galaxy S7 tout, which is an Always-On mode.

HTC 10 – PERFORMANCE

Talking about the performance of 2016 flagship phones feels like a broken record. Phones seem to have hit a performance plateau – they’re all very fast and the only slowdowns seems to come from a lack of software optimisations. The HTC 10 follows suit, but then its combo of a Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM seems to be the default choice for a 2016 flagship.

HTC 10 – CAMERA

And just like those on the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S, the camera itself is 12-megapixels (well, UltraPixels). So, in theory it should be better, right? Well, no. Especially when compared to the Galaxy S7.

Let’s start with the positives. The HTC 10’s camera app is one of the best around: it's fully featured with RAW support, Pro modes and it’s simple to navigate with big buttons and a lack of text. It’s also fast to navigate and jumping through modes doesn’t lag in the slightest.

It can also capture lovely indoor and outdoor daytime shots with accurate colour representation and without any nasty over-sharpening artifacts. There is sometimes a lack of oomph in the snaps, with some looking a little dull, but they’re up there with the best.

Pictures have plenty of detail. You can pick out the leaves even though it's quite dark.

HTC 10 – BATTERY LIFE

The 3,000mAh cell tucked inside the HTC 10 is exactly the same capacity as the Galaxy S7's and marginally bigger than the LG G5's, and in my tests I've found that it lasts about the same amount of time as those two.

HTC is trying to make the most of this move, enabling Quick Charge 3.0. The move to USB-C is initially annoying, rendering all those Micro USB cables you’ve acquired over the years redundant, but it's worth it.

OVERALL SCORE

SCORES IN DETAIL

• Battery Life8
• Calls & Sound9
• Camera8
• Design9
• Performance9
• Screen Quality8
• Software10
• Value8