HTC U24 Pro review: Not quite the glorious return

Anybody who’s been a fan of telephones for some time will know the title HTC.

For some time, the Taiwanese firm was one of many main producers of high quality handsets and seemed set to dominate for years. The truth is, my first correct Android cellphone was the HTC Need, which continues to be a traditional design to at the present time.

However issues didn’t fairly go to plan and the corporate fell away after a collection of unenthusiastically obtained releases. 

Final yr marked the return of the legendary model, with the introduction of the HTC U23 Professional, an unremarkable mid-range cellphone that failed to chop by the very crowded pack. Now, it’s again once more with the U24 Professional. So, has the magic returned or will HTC fade away as soon as extra? I examined the HTC U24 Professional to seek out out. 

Design & Construct

• Improved design over the U23 Professional
• Curved edges
• IP67 waterproof ranking

After we reviewed the U23 Professional, design wasn’t one among its strengths. The cellphone had a chunky, primarily plastic body that was heavy within the palms.

HTC appears to have taken notice, because the U24 Professional improves in all these areas. Admittedly it’s nonetheless somewhat on the heavy aspect, however the 199g is just about par for the course on the subject of fashionable mid-range Android telephones. 

The chassis is now aluminium somewhat than plastic, giving it a sturdy really feel, whereas the rear panel is a skinny plastic with a luminescent blue end that adjustments as you angle it within the mild.

It’s a fairly large system, with dimensions of 167.1 x 74.9 X 8.98 mm, making it taller however narrower than the U23 Professional whereas retaining across the similar thickness.

Curved edges on the 6.8-inch show and the rear panel make it really feel much less cumbersome within the hand, reminding me of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 Plus fashions of yesteryear. That being mentioned, the cellphone is a handful, not that grippy and somewhat top-heavy, so that you’ll actually need to purchase a case (because the system doesn’t ship with one).

HTC sells a handsome one on its website for £24.99, however I additionally discovered a number of cheaper choices on Amazon that might additionally do the job. A case might additionally assist with the digicam bump on the again, which makes the U24 Professional wobble when positioned on a flat floor.

Across the body of the system, you’ll discover a USB-C charging port, twin Nano-SIM tray (which additionally helps Micro-SD playing cards), energy and quantity controls, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

There’s a speaker grille on the underside edge, plus a slim slit alongside the highest of the entrance panel that acts because the output for name audio and as an accompanying speaker for normal sound. It’s not fairly the twin front-facing audio system of the HTC One days, nevertheless it’s good to see HTC providing a number of nods in the direction of its progressive previous. 

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An IP67 water and mud resistance ranking means the U24 Professional ought to survive liquid spills and even a brief dunk, so that you don’t should be too cautious with it round water. 

Display & Audio system

• 6.8-inch FHD+, 120Hz OLED show
• Underneath-display fingerprint sensor
• Overly delicate responses

HTC has gone with a 6.8-inch FHD+ (2436 x 1080) OLED panel on the U24 Professional, which is brilliant and renders colors in a satisfyingly crisp method.

The curved edges do imply that there are hardly any bezels in any respect on the system (it boasts an 88.3% screen-to-body ratio), though I discovered myself unintentionally triggering on-screen instructions on fairly a number of events because of the flaky palm rejection software program.

The 20:9 facet ratio does make it virtually unattainable to succeed in the higher edge whereas holding the system in a single hand, so it’s very a lot within the two-hand class. 

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The panel itself can also be fairly responsive, maybe overly so. It wasn’t uncommon to unintentionally choose an choice whereas scrolling by a web page. Once more, I believe a case would assist with a few of these points, however with out one I discovered the U24 Professional a bit awkward to make use of. 

Scrolling could be very clean although, due to the 120Hz refresh price, and watching video content material is a pleasurable expertise due to the big show and the wealthy colors delivered by the OLED panel. There’s a punch-hole for the selfie digicam that’s positioned within the central space close to the highest of the cellphone, however that’s par for the course as of late.

HTC has additionally gone with an optical under-display fingerprint reader, as on the U23 Professional, and I discovered this to be quick and dependable to make use of all through my time with the system. That wasn’t the case on the U23 Professional, so HTC has made some enhancements this time round.

It additionally makes use of Corning’s robust Gorilla Glass to guard the panel however doesn’t specify which model. 

Brightness will not be a difficulty, with the 400 nits I measured on the total brightness sufficient for nearly all environments. Very sunny days introduced extra of a problem, however the ‘Daylight mode’ boosted issues as much as a extra seen 700 nits, which did the trick. 

Sound comes from the primary speaker on the underside edge, paired with the cellphone’s earpiece alongside the highest of the entrance panel. The audio is first rate, with sufficient quantity and readability to make it good for YouTube and Netflix.

After all, as with just about each cellphone, the bass is a bit subdued, however I believe most individuals can be pleased with the sound the U24 Professional can ship. 

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If you wish to beef issues up, the three.5mm headphone jack is there, or you may use the Bluetooth 5.3 capabilities to attach wirelessly to audio system or headphones. 

Specs & Efficiency

• Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset
• 12GB RAM, 256GB storage 
• Micro-SD card growth as much as 2TB

As it is a mid-tier cellphone, the selection of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 isn’t shocking.

Nevertheless, this does put the U24 Professional at a drawback to shut rivals just like the OnePlus Nord 4, which will get the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 and its improved GPU. This makes a distinction within the benchmarks and gaming efficiency, as you’ll see under. 

However for on a regular basis duties, the U24 Professional is a pleasant and snappy performer. Apps open rapidly and run easily, together with extra demanding, graphic-intensive ones.

The system is impressively succesful for gaming, and I didn’t expertise any substantial heating throughout intense periods. Sure, the cellphone will get heat, however not a lot to make me fear. 

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The processor is aided by a beneficiant 12GB of DDR5 RAM, which retains issues ticking alongside properly, whereas the 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage is a welcome addition on this value bracket.

If that’s not sufficient, merely pop in a Micro-SD card and you’ll enhance it by as much as 2TB. That ought to maintain even probably the most ardent music or film fan completely happy for fairly a while. 

HTC U24 Professional benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp + 50Mp + 5Mp rear cameras
• 50Mp front-facing digicam
• Software program bugs are a frustration

There’s a triple digicam array on the rear of the HTC U24 Professional, comprising a 50Mp f/2 lens with OIS, a 50Mp f/1.88, and an 8Mp f/2.2 digicam.

It’s a good number of choices, which may return some good photographs. Nevertheless, the palm rejection concern I discussed above was additionally an issue right here, leading to a continuing mis-triggering of the Google Assistant whereas attempting to take footage, which was very irritating.

I did discover a workaround by going into the settings and altering the navigation from the software program buttons to gestures. This appeared to resolve the problem, because the software program not thought I used to be urgent a button. Nonetheless, it’s superb how dysfunctional the digicam was by default. 

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With this sorted out, I used to be capable of dig into the photographic capabilities of the U24 Professional. The resolutions differ, relying on what format you employ. 4:3 makes use of 13Mp whereas 16:9 is 9Mp, with a number of others on supply. Because of this the digicam pixel-bins by combining knowledge from 4 pixels into one, which is normal as of late.

The primary digicam information a balanced cross-section of sunshine and color, with loads of element obtainable. Reds do are inclined to veer in the direction of being somewhat boring, whereas greens can pop somewhat greater than how they give the impression of being in actual life.

However total, the pictures I managed to get with the U24 Professional have been good, particularly because the climate meant brilliant sunny days have been uncommon throughout my testing.

Low-light photographs aren’t notably spectacular, with photographs showing murky and never as sharp as I’d like. This may typically be an issue with mid-range telephones, and sadly the HTC U24 Professional does nothing to buck this development. 

I did discover that the Portrait mode wasn’t as spectacular as on different gadgets – even my spouse’s previous Pixel 4a might get higher bokeh (background blur) – whereas the main target was typically wayward. I’d faucet on the topic within the foreground, solely to seek out that the ultimate picture would have the background in focus. Generally it received it proper, nevertheless it’s too hit or miss for my part. 

I additionally encountered a number of events the place the on-screen focus level simply refused to acknowledge a contact. This meant I needed to strive a number of occasions to get the cellphone to do what I needed. Once more, it felt like some type of software program concern that hadn’t been ironed out earlier than launch.

Video high quality goes as much as 4K at 30fps. In order for you 60fps you then’re restricted to 1080p.

To be honest, the footage in that decision is loads adequate for sharing on-line, so it doesn’t really feel too large a sacrifice to not have the whole lot in 4K/60fps. The stabilisation works effectively to maintain footage clean and the publicity tracks altering environments fairly effectively, adjusting rapidly to keep up a constant tone. 

Listed below are some examples of photographs I captured with the HTC U24 Professional:

Battery Life & Charging

• 4600mAh battery
• Helps as much as 60W quick charging
• 5W reverse charging

The U24 Professional acquits itself effectively within the battery division, simply making it by the day and never leaving me trying to find a charger because the evenings start.

Though, once more, it does lag behind the OnePlus Nord 4 which encompasses a large 5500mAh cell versus the HTC’s 4600mAh. The OnePlus additionally affords 100W charging, whereas the U24 Professional tops out at 60W, however that’s nonetheless a decent velocity.

You’ll want to purchase a quick charger although, as HTC doesn’t embody a charger in any respect within the field (which can also be the case with the OnePlus). 

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One benefit the HTC has is wi-fi charging. The OnePlus doesn’t characteristic it in any respect, whereas the U24 Professional goes as much as 15W but additionally affords 5W of reverse charging utilizing the Qi protocol. This implies you may high up one other Qi-compatible system simply by inserting it on the again of the HTC. Very spectacular at this value level. 

Within the PCMark battery check we use for all telephones, the U24 Professional scored a decent 10 hours and 20 minutes.

Recharging (utilizing simply an ordinary charger), returned the HTC from 0% to 23% in quarter-hour and 44% inside half an hour. A full cost took round one hour and 20 minutes, which is ok for a mid-tier system. 

Software program & Apps

• Android 14
• No bloatware
• No Android updates

The U24 Professional comes geared up with Android 14 and a plain vanilla model of the software program. I like this, as Google has executed a superb job of constructing the menus and capabilities streamlined and intuitive, so not having some clumsy interface dumped on high of it’s all the time a plus. 

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There’s additionally a beautiful absence of bloatware, with hardly any non-Google apps on the arduous drive if you first boot up the U24 Professional. There are a few HTC’s VR ones current, however my guess will not be virtually no-one will use them until you have already got the software program for work. In any other case, the cellphone comes clear and pristine. 

Software program help is an issue, although. HTC has confirmed that the U24 Professional received’t be getting any Android updates throughout its lifespan, not even to Android 15.

Safety updates are solely barely higher, with simply two years of patches from its July 2024 launch date. That implies that when these two years are up, the cellphone can be ineffective as it should grow to be unsafe attributable to no safety points being addressed any extra.

The dearth of software program help is garbage and a powerful purpose to not take into account the cellphone in any respect. Distinction this with the Pixel 8a, which can obtain Android and safety updates for 7 years.

Worth & Availability

You will get the HTC U24 Professional within the UK for £479 or €549 in Europe, however the system received’t be launched within the US.

It’s not obtainable on contract within the UK, so that you’ll have to purchase it outright and pair with a SIM-only deal. See the very best choices under.

This places it firmly within the crowded mid-tier class, the place it is going to be competing with some actual heavyweights. As I’ve talked about already, the OnePlus Nord 4 is a wonderful system, with an even bigger battery and a sooner processor for its £429 beginning value.

There’s additionally the Pixel 8a (from £499) which comes with glorious cameras and loads of different software program bonuses that Google offers to its own-brand gadgets. Samsung’s Galaxy A55 (£439) is one other robust contender, with the Samsung construct high quality and software program help.

You can even take a look at our finest mid-range cellphone chart for extra choices. 

Do you have to purchase the HTC U24 Professional?

There’s little doubt that the HTC U24 Professional is a step ahead from final yr’s disappointing U23 Professional. Nevertheless, in some ways it nonetheless fails to over any compelling purpose to purchase it over the very best telephones at its value.

It has a pleasant design, first rate cameras and loads of storage, however finicky show that registers too many unintentional touches is a misstep. Then there’s the wrong portrait mode and weird bug the place Google Assistant retains launching.

To be trustworthy, these might all be mounted with software program updates and perhaps they are going to, however if you’re already up towards robust opposition it’s not good to create issues for your self.

Nevertheless, the actual dealbreaker is proscribed software program help, with no new variations of Android and safety updates for less than two years, which in 2024 is appalling.

It’s like HTC is simply making a half-hearted try at placing out telephones once more, which is a method you’re assured to fail within the aggressive market that the U24 Professional has to navigate. Don’t purchase this cellphone, purchase a Pixel 8a or OnePlus Nord 4 as an alternative.

Specs

• Android 14
• 6.8-inch FHD+, 120Hz OLED show (Gorilla Glass)
• Underneath-display fingerprint sensor
• Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor
• 12GB DDR5 RAM
• 256GB UFS 3.1 Storage (microSD card expands storage by as much as 2TB)
• 50 Mp, f/1.9, OIS
  50 Mp, f/2.0
  8 Mp, f/2.2
• 50Mp f/2.5 selfie digicam
• NFC
• GPS
• Wi-Fi 6e
• Bluetooth 5.3
• 3.5mm headphone Jack
• USB-C charging port
• Nano SIM / microSD slot
• Twin Audio system
• IP67
• 4600mAh battery
• 60W wired charging
• 15W wi-fi charging
• 5W reverse wi-fi charging
• 167.1 x 74.9 X 8.98 mm
• 199g