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Apple iPhone X vs HTC U11 – Battle of the flagships

With the new Apple lineup set to arrive in the market, we are comparing the Apple iPhone X with the HTC U11. This is not just about comparing the tenth-anniversary with the HTC U11 but straightaway comparing it with one of the top-notch Android flagships out there.

On one hand, where iPhone X has brought FaceID, the HTC U11 has also innovated in form of their Edge Sense (Squeezable frame) feature. In this post, we will be comparing the Apple iPhone X and the HTC U11 on parameters fulfilled by both devices.

iPhone X vs HTC U11

Design

The first two things we see in a smartphone are its design and display. Starting with the Apple iPhone X, the phone features a new glass back which facilitates wireless charging. The home button is replaced by on-screen gestures. The rear cameras are vertically placed at the top corner.

HTC U11

The HTC U11, on the other hand, features a Liquid Glass back, which is shiny and highly reflective. The single-camera with Dual Tone flash sits at the top-center of the phone. A fingerprint sensor along with capacitive navigation keys sits at the front of the HTC U11.

Display

A crisp display certainly makes a smartphone experience better. On the Apple iPhone X, Apple has for the first time used an OLED panel. Named as the Super Retina Display, the iPhone X comes with a 5.8 inch edge-to-edge display with 2436 x 1125 pixels resolution. It is an HDR-enabled True Tone display with 3D touch.

HTC U11

On the HTC U11, you get a smaller 5.5 inch display with quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, which is higher than the iPhone X’s resolution. It is a Super LCD 5 display, which means crisp viewing angles and sharper color reproduction compared to traditional LCD panels. The HTC U11 comes with curved Gorilla Glass 5 display, which means it is immersive as well as durable.

Cameras

Apple has been famous for the cameras in its iPhones and this is no different with the iPhone X. The iPhone X comes with a dual 12MP camera setup at the back. In this setup, you get a wide angle lens (f/1.8 aperture) and a telephoto lens (f/1.4 aperture). Accompanied by a Quad-LED flash, the cameras on the iPhone X come equipped with Portrait lighting for multiple effects.

iPhone X cameras

Not to forget that HTC was one of the first to leap to dual cameras, but for some reason, they kept a single camera on the HTC U11. The U11 sports a single 12MP HTC UltraPixel 3 camera at the back. This camera features a f/1.7 aperture along with OIS for shake-free images and videos. Accompanied by a Dual-LED flash, the HTC U11 comes with full sensor auto-focus technology, which is used for quick focus in DSLRs.

Also, the HTC U11 is the highest rated camera by DxO mark. While the iPhone X comes with a 7MP TrueDepth front camera with FaceID, the HTC U11 packs a 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture.

Performance

While this will be between two completely different platforms, i.e. Android and iOS, we can compare the figures these have to offer. Starting with the iPhone X, you get iOS 11, backed by Apple’s A11 Bionic chip, which is a 6-core processor. With 64GB and 256GB storage variants, the iPhone X offers Siri as the default AI companion.

HTC U11 Edge Sense featured image

Coming to the HTC U11, you get Android 7.1.1 Nougat with HTC Sense on top. The U11 is also confirmed to get Android 8.0 Oreo update. Featuring a Snapdragon 835 Octa-core processor, the HTC U11 offers up to 6GB RAM with up to 128GB storage, along with 2TB expansion option. Apart from Google Assistant, the HTC U11 comes with HTC’s homegrown HTC Sense Companion for AI support and HTC Edge Sense (Squeezable Frame).

Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality

On the Apple iPhone X, you get Siri as your default AI assistant. While Siri can perform basic functions really well, there are certain limitations to it. The HTC U11 combines two AI assistants in one phone. It comes with Google Voice Assistant, HTC Sense Companion, along with Amazon Alexa support in select regions. So your HTC U11 learns from you and makes your phone customized as you like.

Apple ARKit

Coming to Augmented Reality, Apple iPhone X is undoubtedly the better one here. With Apple’s ARKit, the iPhone X has great AR capabilities that can be used in gaming as well as other applications. The HTC U11, on the other hand, has no special inclination towards AR and may get updated with Google adding features to Android.

Security

With all our data coming down to our palms in form of our phones, we definitely need safer and more secure options to keep it safe from potential threats. On a software level, both Google and Apple deploy security updates to keep their devices safe from potential threat. Here, we talk about what hardware security options we get.

FaceID

With the Apple iPhone X, Apple has scrapped the TouchID to introduce FaceID, which means your iPhone X will unlock with your face. On the other end, the HTC U11 uses a more conventional Fingerprint scanner for unlocking your phone. In terms of unlocking speed and comfort, you may need to hold the iPhone X at a certain angle to unlock it, but with HTC U11’s fingerprint scanner, you can unlock your phone as you take it out of your pocket.

Battery and Connectivity

So coming down to the battery now, the Apple iPhone X does not officially disclose the battery capacity but says it lasts two hours more than the iPhone 7. On the HTC U11, you get a 3,00 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0. The Apple iPhone X also supports wireless charging via AirPower Mat.

iPhone X wireless charging

While both the Apple iPhone X and HTC U11 don’t have the 3.5mm jack, the iPhone X takes single nano Sim and comes with a Lightning port. In the HTC U11, you get a Dual nano-Sim support along with a USB Type-C port.

Price

Finally, we talk about the pricing of the Apple iPhone X and HTC U11. While Apple has priced the iPhone X at a whopping Rs. 1,02,000 for the 256GB model, the 6GB RAM, 128GB model of the HTC U11 is pegged at Rs. 51,990. Also, you’re not limited by memory when it comes with the U11 as you get 2TB expansion option.

On a closing note, we would say that the iPhone X is indeed an innovative flagship from Apple, but the HTC U11 is better than the iPhone X on many fronts, be it battery life, connectivity and storage capacity. The huge difference in the pricing also makes the HTC U11 the smarter choice.

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Abhishek Bhatnagar

Abhishek Bhatnagar, a known technology blogger & YouTuber from India. A Software Engineer by qualification, now he works as the editor-In-Chief, Webmaster, & Managing Director at Gadgets To Use. He runs a number of other technology websites as well.