HTC U Ultra: unboxing, hands on review and detail shots

We've seen some great phones in recent months, including the Huawei Mate 9 and Google Pixel XL but not one that we could call perfect. We're not going to suggest that this might be what we've been missing - it doesn't have a headphone jack. We're blaming Apple for that one.

But just look at it. We've felt for many years that HTC has produced many of the best-built phones and now here we have a (Sapphire) Blue metallic finish that oozes class in much the same way as the Jet Black iPhone 7.

There's also a second screen above the main one - for extended notifications and shortcuts. We've seen that fail on Samsung Galaxy phones before now, but will it be useful?

We'll publish our full, in-depth review in the next few days, but here are some cool pics and our first impressions...
The box with its rainbow metallic lettering is pretty sweet.
You get a free protective case - clear so you can still see the great chassis. HTC also includes some of the best ear-buds on the market to go with its high resolution audio features.
Gorgeous. But will the protruding camera be a problem?
It's not quite as shiny with the case on but it's not bad. The case is *slightly* less of a fingerprint magnet.
The front, when off, is as black as a Spinal Tap album cover.
The second screen resides above the main screen. It can show weather, notifications and contacts and is activated when you lift up the phone.
It's so purdy. But don't touch it without gloves or it will get marked.
Another good thing about the chassis is that it is easy to hold unlike the similarly-shiny Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which was very slippery.
A USB-C connector at the base and... no earbud jack. Grrr. At least HTC supplies a decent pair of high-quality earbuds with a USB-C connector.
Nothing on the left.
On the right we have a power button and volume rocker. We find having the power button in the middle can interfere with our grip sometimes. We'll see how we fair with this.
We injected some more colour into the front. We had to remove them when we were charging the phone, though - it was getting very warm!

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