PERFORMANCE: While the HTC U12+ garners some high scores, many others score better. This phone could still be a good budget choice if you can get it at a good price or if you need only a basic smartphone. Ease of use on the U12+ was excellent. The touchscreen's use of menus, web browser, camera, buttons, and unlocking the phone were top notch. You should be able to comfortably hold the phone and use its buttons and touchscreen easily. Performance of the U12+ was excellent. The maximum upload and download speeds and tested processor performance were very fast. You should be able to accomplish most tasks with no delays. Call quality and convenience on the U12+ were not the best but they were very good. Sound while on a call was very good in a quiet room and with background noise. Your sound quality will vary due to many factors including background noise, if you are moving between cell towers, the quality of the phone on the other end of the call, and the quality of the cell tower and antenna.
DURABILITY: Overall, the durability of the U12+ was Excellent. The phone scored an Excellent in our scratch resistance test. This phone passed our tumble test. The tumble test results are as follows: After 50 drops in the tumbler, our experts rated it as Excellent. An included protection cover was used in testing. There were just some minor scratches. Overall, it was in good working condition. After our more strenuous 100 drops in the tumbler the screen and body proved they can take a serious tumble. Our experts rated it as Excellent. Overall, it was in good working condition. This phone passed our rain test where a gentle rain falls on the phone for 5 minutes. This phone passed its water intrusion test submerged at its rated depth and time.
PORTABILITY/BATTERY: The 6-inch screen on the U12+ comes in a body measuring 6.2-inches tall, 3-inches wide, 0.4-inches thick, and weighs 6.6 ounces. Those measurements mean the phone is an average size phone. At 22 hours, it has an average battery lifespan. Its battery is not removable and the phone doesn't support wireless charging.
CAMERA: The main rear camera on the HTC U12+ measures 12.2-megapixels. The camera has optical image stabilization to improve your chances of taking better handheld photos under low-light conditions. Overall the camera performance was very good. The main camera is among our top performers for shooting stills. Images are evaluated on high quality LCD displays. The test photos are taken in a brightly lit studio and in a controlled studio simulating sunlight. In the viewing tests the images were rated very good overall. These images are among the best results for color quality, exposure level, sharpness, and image noise. The U12+ comes with an 8-megapixel selfie cam. Overall the selfie camera quality was good.
DISPLAY: Overall the display quality was very good. The display resolution was high enough, close to or greater than 300dpi, so you see a smooth, crisp display but it didn't appear quite as crisp as our best displays. If the display does have a higher resolution, most people will not be able to tell the difference. Readability outdoors is a combination of brightness, measured in candelas per square meter, and reflectivity. The readability rating was good. The maximum brightness level measured 1 meter from the screen was a little dim for outdoor sunlight at 280cd/m² and reflective glare was slightly noticeable.
