The HTC 10 is a new smartphone which includes a 12 million UltraPixel rear camera, with an f/1.8 lens. It’s the first smartphone from HTC to drop the “One M” moniker, but it is a follow-up to the HTC One M9.
HTC 10 Features
The camera’s sensor is a 12 megapixel BSI Sensor with UltraPixels, which are specifically designed to capture more low light. There’s a fixed 26mm focal length, with an f/1.8 aperture. As well as a fully automatic mode, there’s also a “Pro” mode which features manual control and the ability to shoot in raw format. You also have other options including HDR, Panorama, Hyperlapse and more.
The front camera is 5MP, but uses ordinary pixels. Both the front and rear camera feature optical image stabilisation - a feature which is unusual for mobile phones, and again should help with low light shooting. The front lens is a little wider at 23mm, but also has an f/1.8 maximum aperture.
With the rear camera you can record 4K video, as well as slow motion video (at 720p). The screen is a 5.2inch 2560 x 1440 pixel device, with Gorilla Glass on a Curve Edge Display.
Other features of the phone, which aren’t strictly connected to the camera, but are still useful from a photography perspective include the ability to expand the internal memory by inserting a Micro SD card, a 2-day battery life and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Processor.
The HTC 10 uses Android 6 (Marshmallow) as its operating system.
Key Features
- 12MP HTC UltraPixel sensor
- 26mm (equivalent) f/1.8 lens
- Laser Autofocus
- Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS)
- Auto HDR
- 4K Video Recording
- 5MP Front camera with OIS
- 5.2 inch touch sensitive Quad HD Display
- MicroSD compatibility
HTC 10 Handling
The HTC 10 is, by comparison to many of the other phones currently on the market, medium-sized. Like many other phones, there are very few physical buttons on the phone, with the majority of operation taking place via the screen itself. There are in fact only three conventional buttons on the phone - all of which can be found on the right hand side of the device. There’s a power on/off button, along with a volume rocker switch. There’s also a sensor on the bottom of the screen, which acts like a button in the sense that you can press it, but it’s not raised like a physical button.
You can set the volume rocker switch to capture an image - the first time you press it while you’re in the camera app, the phone will prompt you to set a function for the volume switch.
The phone’s native camera app has quite a few different configurations that you can use it in. If you pull a menu from the top of the screen (or the left hand side depending on how you’re holding it) then you’ll be able to choose from standard (automatic) photo mode, “Zoe camera” (a mode that captures a still image and a video together to create a “live” picture), panorama or “Pro” mode from the stills section.
From the video section, there’s standard video, hyper lapse and slow motion. Finally, at the bottom of the options, there’s selfie photo and selfie video.
Whether in automatic photo mode or in the more advanced Pro section, you can set the autofocus point by tapping on the area of the screen that you want to use. When in auto mode, if you tap you’ll see that just next to the autofocus point you have the option to add or reduce brightness (exposure compensation) by moving your finger up or down. This can be useful when photographing something which is particularly bright or dark.
If you switch to the Pro mode you’ll be given a good degree of control over different functions, if not everything. You can control white balance, exposure compensation, ISO (sensitivity), shutter speed and metering. You can’t control aperture. In order to change anything, you click on the icon at the bottom of the screen and choose the value you want - you can also set each value to automatic too, giving you the opportunity to change some values, but not others.
When shooting in Pro mode, you have the opportunity to switch on raw format shooting. You’ll find this option by dragging out a side menu from the left hand side of the phone screen. It’s a simple on/off option to switch between jpeg and raw format. The phone shoots in the Adobe DNG universal raw format, so you should find any photo editing software that you use (such as Photoshop) should already be able to open the files.
Battery life of the phone is rated at “up to 2 days”. This is for “normal use”, so if you tend to use the camera a lot - especially if recording at high quality settings such as 4K, you may find that it lasts significantly less. However, we certainly found during our time with it that the battery was adequate and lasted the day.
You can open the camera app directly from the lock screen, which speeds up the process of being ready to take your shot. You can expect to be from screen off to taking the shot in under a second. Focusing speed is quick when the light is good, but it tends to take a little longer when attempting to focus in lower light conditions.
HTC 10 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
HTC 10 Sample Photos
As we see so often with mobile phones, the camera is capable of producing excellent results when the light is good. That is the same for the HTC 10, which takes lovely shots in bright sunlight. If you examine images closely, at 100% on screen for example, you’ll see that there’s some loss of detail throughout the sensitivity range. This is not unusual for smartphones, and it’s something that most users are unlikely to do - it’s worth bearing in mind though if you have any intentions to print at very large sizes.
Colours are well represented, with a good amount of punch and vibrance to give them a satisfying level of saturation. Exposures are also generally good, and it’s quite rare that you need to adjust the brightness levels, or exposure compensation.
As the light drops, the HTC copes well, when compared with other smartphones - thanks in no small part to those Ultrapixels. But it’s still not on par with cameras which feature larger sensors, so if you plan on doing a lot of low light shooting, you’ll still be better off with a dedicated camera - the HTC 10 is good for shots of parties and events where you may not necessarily have another device with you.
HTC 10 Lens test images
Lens Performance - At the camera’s fixed focal length, images have a good level of sharpness and detail (especially in good light). The digital zoom is usable if you really need to get closer to the subject and it’s not practical to do that physically. If you’re sharing images online or printing at small sizes, the digital zoom is handy to have.
If you want to take a macro shot, you can get quite close to the subject. However, you need to be wary of false confirmation of focus, as this can sometimes happen when shooting very close subjects - the camera will still allow you to take the photo even when it is clearly not focused correctly.
HTC 10 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - As the light drops and you need to use higher ISO values, the quality drops a little. From around ISO 800 you can see there’s some image smoothing, leaving pictures to look a little painterly. The top value of ISO 3200 is best avoided unless absolutely necessary.
HTC 10 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - The automatic white balance setting does a good job of assessing the scene to produce colours which are reasonably accurate, if perhaps erring a little on the warm side when under artificial light. You can change the white balance setting under the Pro mode, using the slider to get the setting which works best for the situation.
Digital Filters - There are no digital filters available via the standard camera app, but of course you could install an untold number of apps available from the Google Play store to enable you to create filters and effects. There is a panorama mode, from which the resulting images look good if you’re sharing them online at small sizes. If you examine in any close detail, you may find some stitching problems in some areas of the shot.
Video - The camera can record both full HD and 4K video. Results are fairly pleasing, with a decent amount of image stabilisation while recording handheld. The inbuilt microphone picks up sound quite well. You can zoom while recording, but it’s only a digital zoom - so it’s best avoided if possible.
Value For Money
The HTC is on the expensive end of the smartphone scale, being available to buy for £679. Of course, you may be able to get it cheaper if you take out a mobile phone contract with it. Alternatives include the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (£424), the Apple iPhone 6S (£580) or the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (£492).
Have a look at more smartphones in our Top 10 Best Smartphones. You can add a MicroSD memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
HTC 10 Verdict
The HTC 10 has a lot of excellent features, including a camera with a variety of appealing specifications. It performs at its best in well-lit conditions, but this is not particularly unusual for smartphones. If you’re an enthusiastic photographer who bases their decision on which smartphone to buy based on the camera performance and specifications, you should find a lot to like here.
The fact that the phone can shoot in raw format, and gives you almost full manual control is appealing to those who have more advanced standalone cameras that they use. It would be even better if you had control over aperture, too. It’s great to be able to increase the phone’s inbuilt memory using a Micro SD card, as that gives you some flexibility that some of the other smartphones on the market - particularly the iPhone - don’t.
As it stands, the HTC 10 is quite an expensive option, but if you’re an existing Android user, and are particularly interested in 4K video recording or manual control over your photographs, it represents a good choice.
HTC 10 Smartphone Review - Verdict: The HTC 10 offers good image quality, with manual controls and 4K video recording making it a good choice.