HTC 10 review: Iconic, impressive, imperfect

HTC returns in style, with one of the best Android phones of the year so far.

The quick take

After a disappointing couple of release cycles, HTC's 2016 flagship is a confident return to form, and a reason for high-end buyers to start paying attention to the company once again. This impressive all-rounder gets a lot of important things right — performance, build quality and, for the most part, the camera. And although it's trumped by the Galaxy S7 in some key metrics, the HTC 10 is arguably the closest competitor Samsung has right now.

THE GOOD

• Well-built aluminum unibody
• Fast performance and clean, uncluttered UI
• Impressive audio features
• Capable all-round camera

THE BAD

• Display not great in sunlight
• Camera focusing can be finicky, particularly in macro
• Battery life inconsistent, sometimes wildly so
• Expensive SIM-free price

A RETURN TO GLORY?

HTC 10 Full Review

It's easy to write off HTC. With its declining market share and shrinking revenue, it's been some time since it was a major force in the mobile world. Today, the Taiwanese firm is outspent by Samsung and Apple, and increasingly outmaneuvered by leaner upstarts. It's a small fish in a very big pond.

Nevertheless, HTC's strong history in design has left many of us with fond memories of the company's storied back catalog. Phones like the spectacularly ahead-of-its-time HTC One M7, and the beautiful and unique One S, and even the landmark Nexus One stand out as some of the best handsets of their time.

HTC needs a hit now more than ever.

However it's been a good couple of years since the last real trailblazer from HTC, and competing in the the cut-throat phone market of 2016 demands more than just nostalgia. With diminished resources and brand value, HTC needs a hit now more than ever before.

HTC 10 is what's hoped will fuel the recovery: A new, simpler brand backed up by a marketing message promising nothing less than perfection across the board. Sure, some of the key ingredients will be familiar to HTC alumni — BoomSound audio, metal construction and an "Ultrapixel" camera. But can a modern interpretation of these tentpole HTC features make a big enough splash — especially when it's got to go up against the almighty Galaxy S7?

Let's find out.

	5.74 in 145.9mm
2.83 in 71.9mm		0.11-0.35 in 3-9mm

• Display:
  • 5.2-inch Quad HD
  • SuperLCD5 Display
  • 2560x1440 resolution (564ppi)
• Camera:
  • 12MP Ultrapixel 2, ƒ/1.8 lens, OIS, laser AF
  • 5MP Ultraselfie front camera, ƒ/1.8 lens, OIS
• Battery:
  • 3000mAh capacity
  • Quick Charge 3.0
• Chips:
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
  • Quad-core 2.2GHz
  • 4GB RAM
  • 32-64GB internal storage
  • microSD slot with adoptable storage

About this review

We're publishing this review after a week with an unlocked European HTC 10 (model 2PS6200 / M10h) on the EE and Vodafone networks in the UK. We've been using the phone in Manchester and London, UK, in areas with generally good 4G LTE coverage. Our device has been running software version 1.21.401.4, and it's been paired with a Moto 360 (2015) smartwatch during most of our testing. Security patch levels aren't shown in the menus, however the AIDA64 app shows that it's got the March 1, 2016, patch.

Our review unit is the "carbon gray" color option with 32GB of storage, and we've used it with a 64GB microSD card for photo storage and Google Play Music download cache.

We've also been using an unlocked North American model for two weeks now, in New York City and Pensacola, Fla. We've not seen any noticeable differences between them, and the vast majority of this review is based on our European device