HTC has announced its new flagship Android smartphone in the HTC 10. It's HTC's best Android smartphone to date, and I think could be the best Android phone of 2016. In this episode I bring you my HTC 10 unboxing, and give you a rundown of what I think are the top 5 features of the HTC 10.

I talk about the touch responsiveness of the display, the new BoomSound speaker features, the UltraPixel 2.0 camera, the lack of bloatware, and the fantastic unibody metal build quality.

You can get the HTC 10 now.

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Video transcript:

I just got back from New York City, where I got a first look at the new HTC 10. In this video I open it up, and tell you my picks for the top 5 features on this new HTC flagship smartphone.

SOUND
BoomSound speakers and BoomSound HiFi Edition audio ports. On the inside the HTC 10 has high-resolution audio processing, a 24-bit DAC, and a high performance headset amplifier, all of which work together to deliver amazing sound when listening to headphones. It doesn’t stop there though, as the new BoomSound HiFi speakers feature a dial speaker setup. You get one speaker that acts as a tweeter for the highs, and another that acts as a subwoofer for the lows, each with its own dedicated amp.

TOUCH DISPLAY RESPONSIVENESS
This is something that I have always had an issue with on Android devices. The touch responsiveness was rarely as smooth as it was on iOS (although, Apple has started suffering in this area with the introduction of iOS 7 onward.) HTC did a lot of work on its touch display, and the result is a screen that is 50% more responsive than the previous model. It makes a huge difference when scrolling and tapping.

CAMERAS
HTC is calling it UltraPixel 2.0 - it’s a 12 megapixel camera with 1.55 micron sized pixels. The app launches in 0.6 seconds and it uses a second generation laser autofocus system that is three times faster than last years One M9. It also captures 136% more light thanks in part to its f/1.8 aperture, and includes optical image stabilization, and dual tone LED flash.

But notice, I said cameras, plural. That’s because the front camera is also great. It’s a wide angle lens with screen flash, f/1.8 aperture, and it’s the only smartphone selfie camera on the market to offer optical image stabilization.

BUILD QUALITY
If you’re familiar with HTC’s flagship phones, you know that they are known for great build quality, and the HTC 10 is no different. It’s actually the best design HTC has released.  The chamfered contour on the rear will reflect light almost like a piece of jewelry, and the front glass curves and merges into the solid metal unibody. The home button is a touch panel that doubles as fingerprint reader, and I like it better than the similar one HTC used on the One A9. The HTC 10 is available in Carbon Gray, Glacier Silver, Topaz Gold, and the Japan exclusive Camelia Red.

NO BLOATWARE
How many times have you turned on your brand new Android device for the first time, only to be greeted by a bunch of apps you didn’t want, and never would have installed? HTC has heard the cries, and has eliminated the duplicate apps and bloatware that plague so many Android devices. The HTC 10 comes with fewer preinstalled apps, and its Freestyle layout allows you to place anything anywhere, doing away with the mandatory grid design.

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