HTC U24 Pro Review: Not Quite The Glorious Return

At a look

Professional’s Ranking

Professionals

Shiny, responsive display

Stable efficiency

Wi-fi and reverse wi-fi charging

Cons

Liable to unintended faucets

Requires case for snug use

Buggy digicam software program

Solely two years of updates

Our Verdict

The HTC U24 Professional has some good touches, however unusual bugs, awkward dealing with and a brief lifespan make it arduous to suggest over rivals such because the OnePlus Nord 4 or Pixel 8a. Except you’re shopping for it purely for nostalgia, I can’t suggest it.

Value When Reviewed

This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined

Greatest Pricing Right this moment

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 regarded set to dominate for years. In actual fact, my first correct Android telephone was the HTC Need, which remains to be a basic design to at the present time.

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

Final 12 months marked the return of the legendary model, with the introduction of the HTC U23 Professional, an unremarkable mid-range telephone 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 search out out.

Design & Construct

Improved design over the U23 Professional

Curved edges

IP67 waterproof score

After we reviewed the U23 Professional, design wasn’t considered one of its strengths. The telephone had a chunky, primarily plastic body that was heavy within the arms.

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

Martyn Casserly

The chassis is now aluminium relatively 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 pretty big gadget, 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 telephone is a handful, not that grippy and a little bit top-heavy, so that you’ll actually wish to purchase a case (because the gadget doesn’t ship with one).

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

The telephone is a handful, not that grippy and a little bit top-heavy, so that you’ll actually wish to purchase a case

Across the body of the gadget, 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 basic sound. It’s not fairly the twin front-facing audio system of the HTC One days, however it’s good to see HTC providing just a few nods in the direction of its progressive previous.

Martyn Casserly

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

Display & Audio system

6.8-inch FHD+, 120Hz OLED show

Beneath-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 vibrant and renders colors in a satisfyingly crisp method.

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

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

Martyn Casserly

The panel itself can also be fairly responsive, maybe overly so. It wasn’t uncommon to by accident choose an possibility 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 may be very clean although, because of the 120Hz refresh charge, and watching video content material is a pleasurable expertise because of the massive show and the wealthy colors delivered by the OLED panel. There’s a punch-hole for the selfie digicam that’s situated within the central space close to the highest of the telephone, however that’s par for the course lately.

The OLED panel on the U24 Professional is vibrant and renders colors in a satisfyingly crisp method

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 gadget. 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 powerful Gorilla Glass to guard the panel however doesn’t specify which model.

Brightness isn’t a problem, 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 telephone’s earpiece alongside the highest of the entrance panel. The audio is respectable, with sufficient quantity and readability to make it good for YouTube and Netflix.

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

Martyn Casserly

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 enlargement as much as 2TB

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

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.

For on a regular basis duties, the U24 Professional is a pleasant and snappy performer

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

Martyn Casserly

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 increase it by as much as 2TB. That ought to maintain even essentially the most ardent music or film fan pleased 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 an honest number of choices, which may return some good pictures. Nevertheless, the palm rejection difficulty I discussed above was additionally an issue right here, leading to a continuing mis-triggering of the Google Assistant whereas making an attempt 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 now not thought I used to be urgent a button. Nonetheless, it’s wonderful how dysfunctional the digicam was by default.

Martyn Casserly

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 utilize. 4:3 makes use of 13Mp whereas 16:9 is 9Mp, with just a few others on supply. Because of this the digicam pixel-bins by combining knowledge from 4 pixels into one, which is normal lately.

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

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

The principle digicam data a balanced cross-section of sunshine and color, with loads of element obtainable

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

I did discover that the Portrait mode wasn’t as spectacular as on different units – even my spouse’s outdated Pixel 4a may get higher bokeh (background blur) – whereas the main target was usually wayward. I’d faucet on the topic within the foreground, solely to search out that the ultimate picture would have the background in focus. Generally it received it proper, however it’s too hit or miss in my view.

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 instances to get the telephone to do what I wished. Once more, it felt like some sort of software program difficulty that hadn’t been ironed out earlier than launch.

Video high quality goes as much as 4K at 30fps. If you need 60fps then you definately’re restricted to 1080p.

To be honest, the footage in that decision is lots ok 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 properly to maintain footage clean and the publicity tracks altering environments fairly properly, adjusting rapidly to take care of a constant tone.

Listed here 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 properly within the battery division, simply making it by the day and never leaving me looking for a charger because the evenings start.

Though, once more, it does lag behind the OnePlus Nord 4 which includes a huge 5500mAh cell versus the HTC’s 4600mAh. The OnePlus additionally presents 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).

Martyn Casserly

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 in addition presents 5W of reverse charging utilizing the Qi protocol. This implies you may high up one other Qi-compatible gadget simply by putting it on the again of the HTC. Very spectacular at this value level.

The U24 Professional acquits itself properly within the battery division, simply making it by the day

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

Recharging (utilizing simply a normal 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 okay for a mid-tier gadget.

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 creating the menus and capabilities streamlined and intuitive, so not having some clumsy interface dumped on high of it’s at all times a plus.

Martyn Casserly

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

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

The dearth of software program assist is garbage and a robust cause to not think about the telephone in any respect

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 telephone will probably be ineffective as it’s going to grow to be unsafe resulting from no safety points being addressed any extra.

The dearth of software program assist is garbage and a robust cause to not think about the telephone in any respect. Distinction this with the Pixel 8a, which is able to obtain Android and safety updates for 7 years.

Value & Availability

You will get the HTC U24 Professional within the UK for £479 or €549 in Europe, however the gadget gained’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 gadget, 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 provides to its own-brand units. Samsung’s Galaxy A55 (£439) is one other robust contender, with the Samsung construct high quality and software program assist.

You too can take a look at our finest mid-range telephone 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 12 months’s disappointing U23 Professional. Nevertheless, in some ways it nonetheless fails to over any compelling cause to purchase it over the very best telephones at its value.

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

To be sincere, these may all be fastened with software program updates and perhaps they are going to, however once 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 assist, with no new variations of Android and safety updates for under two years, which in 2024 is appalling.

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