HTC U23 pro smartphone review – Back to old strength?

HTC launches the U23 pro on the European market. U stood for high-end in previous HTC models. The previous year’s HTC Desire 22 Pro had a different nickname: we criticized the high RRP and the mediocre update support there.

HTC only offers the U23 pro in one variant in Germany, with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The buyer can choose between two colors, Snow White and Coffee Black. HTC relies on a mix of materials for the U23 pro.

The frame is made of metal, the back is plastic, and the display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus. While the frame feels very high-quality, the back leaves a simpler impression – it can be easily pressed in. The smartphone can be bent easily with force, and the volume rocker has some play.

However, we did not get any scratches on the device during the test period. The 6. 7-inch display is flat and there are slightly wider display edges on the forehead and chin.

The front camera is located in a punch hole. Four lenses protrude from the casing at the back, which makes the device wobble slightly when typing on a flat surface. HTC adds some features in the U23 pro that are rarely found in current smartphones, such as a status LED, memory expansion via microSD card, and an audio jack for headphones.

However, NFC, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5. 2 are also supported as current transmission standards. HTC also installs a USB-C port with USB 3.

2 (Gen. 1). The U23 pro has a hybrid slot: it either accepts two nano-SIM cards or one SIM and one memory card; eSIM is not supported.

The HTC U23 pro can handle SD cards up to a size of 1 TB. The exFAT filesystem is also supported. In our copy test with the Angelbird AV PRO V60 128 GB reference card, it becomes clear that the transfer rates are not on the top level.

A Samsung Galaxy A54 is about twice as fast in this discipline. The software on the HTC U23 pro is almost stock Android. It is positive that the manufacturer does not install third-party apps.

Only the common Google apps and software from Vive are preinstalled – HTC belongs to the Vive group that offers VR products. Although the system is so slim, 42 GB of storage are occupied ex-factory. During setup, it is noticeable that not all texts are translated into German for the unlock method.

English passages are also noticeable when setting up the face unlock. HTC does not use a one-hand mode or special gestures in the U23 pro. The smartphone is shipped with Android 13, and the security patch was up-to-date at the time of testing.

HTC wants to provide the U23 pro with security updates for two years, but there is no statement on whether and how many major updates the device will get. In the network measurements with our reference router, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000, the HTC U23 pro shows solid rates in the 5 GHz range on par with the comparison devices. Only the Xiaomi 13 Lite is significantly faster and leaves the other smartphones far behind.

However, the U23 pro also supports Wi-Fi 6E, and the smartphone can achieve significantly faster speeds than in the 5 GHz network with a corresponding router. The connection is also established quickly in the test and is stable. The mobile reception is inconspicuous in the test.

The smartphone supports a variety of 4G bands and some 5G bands, but it does not reach the bandwidth of an Honor 90 . The HTC U23 pro supports dual-GNSS with all common satellite systems. The connection is established quickly and is sufficiently accurate.

We took the smartphone on a bike tour together with a Garmin Venu 2 smartwatch. The route recorded by the smartphone largely corresponds to the representation on the map. However, the Garmin watch is even more accurate, especially in the display of radii.

The installed GNSS solution is convincing in everyday use, and various navigation programs work without problems. HTC relies on the Google Phone app. The U23 pro supports WLAN telephony and VoLTE.

The smartphone’s call quality is good: voices are transmitted clearly and there is no noise. The U23 pro can get very loud when making calls via speakers. Only background noise should be filtered out better by HTC.

HTC gives the U23 pro five lenses, four on the back and one on the front. As so often in the mid-range, only the main camera on the back can convince. It has a maximum resolution of 108 MPix, but the smartphone usually uses pixel binning to increase the resolution to 12 MPix.

The color reproduction is natural, sometimes a bit dark, and the pictures are usually sharp and detailed. The pictures of the ultra-wide-angle camera clearly fall behind those of the main camera in terms of quality. The pictures are less sharp, there is also image noise, and the pictures are distorted at the edges.

The digital zoom also does not add much value because the pictures lose a lot of sharpness. The macro camera offers decent results in bright light. However, the U23 pro also allows taking pictures with full resolution.

However, the subject has to be well-lit for these to be good. In addition, the smartphone has a Pro mode in which ISO, exposure time, aperture, white balance, and focus can be set manually. However, this mode can only be used with the main camera.

The front-facing camera boasts a maximum resolution of 32 MPix, but the results often lack sharpness. In return, the portrait mode works very reliably. HTC has a special night mode for low-light situations.

There is little image noise, but the pictures remain quite dark overall. The U23 pro records videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p at 60 FPS on the front. Recordings in 4K are also possible on the back, but only with 30 FPS.

HTC only supports video stabilization at a resolution of 1080p. The U23 pro reacts promptly to lighting changes and the autofocus is also convincing. However, sound recordings have background noise.

The slow operating speed when switching between the different camera modes is annoying. Besides the smartphone, the packaging of the HTC U23 pro only contains a USB-C cable and a tool to open the SIM slot. The manufacturer does not include a power adapter, case, or protective film.

HTC offers a 24-month warranty for the U23 pro in Germany. The Google keyboard is installed on the HTC U23 pro ex-works. Inputs can be made smoothly and there are no incorrect inputs.

The touchscreen’s gliding capabilities are good, and inputs are reliably recognized in all areas. The HTC smartphone can be unlocked via the fingerprint reader in the power button or via 2D face recognition. The finger only has to be placed on the button.

However, it takes a second for the sensor to react and activate the display. Moreover, not every touch is recognized. The face unlock is more reliable and does a very good job even in low light.

However, it cannot be activated by raising the smartphone or tapping the display, but the power button always has to be pressed. HTC uses a 6. 7-inch OLED panel with an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz in the U23 pro.

Unlike many other manufacturers, HTC does not allow the software to determine the refresh rate. Only fixed values of 60, 90, or 120 Hz are possible. In comparison with other devices in this class, it is noticeable that the display of the U23 pro does not reach the maximum brightness values by far.

While the U23 pro achieves a maximum brightness of 724 cd/m² in our test, the Samsung Samsung Galaxy A54 manages 935 nits, and the Honor 90 even 1202 cd/m². The HTC also holds the red lantern in terms of color matching, but the gap to the other devices is significantly smaller. We measured the flickering of the display with a frequency of 120 Hz during our test.

This is probably OLED flickering. Unfortunately, HTC does not use an always-on display in the U23 pro. The display of the HTC U23 pro covers the sRGB color space by 100% according to Calman’s 2D measurement.

The color reproduction is okay, but there are deviations, especially in the grayscale. The screens of other devices in this class are partly better calibrated, but the results of the HTC are not bad. Outdoors, the panel’s low maximum brightness is noticeable on days with a lot of light.

The panel is bright enough to see the content. However, there are more reflections than in the comparison devices. The brightness sensor works quickly and accurately.

The viewing angle stability of the display is very good. Contents can be recognized well and do not distort even from acute viewing angles. The graphics performance of HTC’s U23 pro is solid with the installed Adreno 644 graphics unit.

The smartphone is always in the midfield of the comparison devices list in the benchmarks. Even current games like PUBG Mobile run stably in HDR with maximum frame rate on the device. HTC’s U23 pro delivers a strong performance in the browser benchmarks.

The device takes first place in the comparison field in three out of five benchmarks. The browsing experience with the smartphone is also pleasant and smooth in everyday use. HTC provides the U23 pro with 256 GB internal UFS 2.

2 storage. The transfer rates in the test are about midfield. The U23 pro is about significantly faster than a Samsung Galaxy A54 .

However, the storage speeds are also significantly slower than those of the Honor 90 or Motorola Edge 40 in sequential reading and writing. The HTC stays nice and cool in everyday use. The U23 pro also processes several opened apps without problems.

However, the temperature increases enormously when the device is put under maximum load – we recently used the Burnout benchmark for this. We measured a maximum temperature of 49. 6 degrees Celsius on the front.

The temperature on the back is slightly lower with a maximum of 45. 3 degrees Celsius. Thus, the device gets uncomfortably hot.

However, it remains stable in the stress test despite the high temperatures. HTC installs stereo speakers in the U23 pro. They get very loud when desired, and the smartphone vibrates strongly on the back when the volume is higher.

The upper speaker also distorts when music is played very loudly. The mids and high tones are strong on the U23 pro, but low frequencies or basses are rather weak even for a smartphone. However, the quality is okay for games and videos when the volume is not set too high.

Some users might be happy about the jack on the top, which also offers a good noise value of 82. 02 dBFS. The HTC also connects with Bluetooth headphones without problems.

It supports a variety of codecs: SBC, AAC, Qualcomm aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, LC3, Opus, aptX Adaptive Audio, and aptX TWS+. The U23 pro shows high energy consumption in our tests and is roughly on par with the Honor 90 . The Xiaomi 13 Lite with the same SoC operates much more frugally.

The smartphone can be charged with up to 30 watts via cable and up to 15 watts wirelessly. The high energy consumption already suggests that the battery runtimes are shorter than in the comparison devices. This is not due to the battery capacity of 4600 mAh, which is even lower in the Xiaomi 13 Lite (4500 mAh) and Motorola Edge 40 (4400 mAh).

Nevertheless, these two devices last a third longer in our realistic Wi-Fi test. The U23 pro still achieves a runtime of about 10 hours in our Wi-Fi surfing test. Without extensive gaming sessions, the device easily lasts a day.

The U23 pro is charged from 0 to 100 percent in 75 minutes with the 33-watt power supply. Back to the smartphone world with a bang? HTC’s U23 pro does not manage that. It is not a bad smartphone: The SoC’s performance is sufficient for all tasks, the main camera takes appealing pictures, and the OLED panel can display content at 120 Hz.

However, many other smartphones can do that as well. The strengths of the HTC are rather in the details. It has 256 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card.

It supports many Bluetooth codes and has an audio jack. Thanks to WiFi 6E, the transfer rates are also good and a status LED is almost a unique selling point. Likewise, the software is very tidy, but the software support is short and there are no more HTC-typical features.

The equipment list of the U23 pro is long. The smartphone collects many small plus points but lacks gloss. NFC, wireless charging, and stereo speakers are also on board.

The U23 pro is very well equipped but it does not feel particularly valuable. The feel is particularly annoying considering the MSRP of 550 Euros (~$550), but this is not noticeable when the U23 pro is put into a case. The battery runtimes are also rather modest compared to the competition, but the device still lasts for a day.

Furthermore, the displays of the comparison devices are all brighter. It is also a pity that HTC does without an always-on display and that the audio track has a basic noise during video recordings. The Honor 90 offers a much brighter display and twice as much memory, but a heavily customized Android interface.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 has been on the market for longer and is thus considerably cheaper. It also offers expandable storage and will be updated for many years. HTC sets the MSRP for the U23 pro at 550 Euros (~$596).

The manufacturer sells the smartphone at its own online shop. Alternative, users can order the device via Amazon US . .