My favourite retro HTC cellphone marks the tip of an period

There are a variety of fantastic smartphones that have won over my heart all through the years, however one handset specifically stands above the remainder: the HTC 10 from 2016. Launched onto the market as a premium flagship providing, the HTC 10 primarily duked it out with Samsung’s Galaxy S7, LG’s G5, and Apple’s iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 fashions. Whereas these latter telephones stay well-known to this present day, HTC’s 10 has seemingly pale from the general public consciousness, which I believe is a disgrace.

In some ways, the HTC 10 may be greatest described because the penultimate HTC smartphone. Whereas retaining a lot of the forward-thinking DNA of its legendary HTC One (m7) and One (m8) forebears, it vaulted the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based firm again into the aggressive highlight after a lackluster predecessor within the HTC One (m9) the 12 months prior.

With the ten, HTC got here weapons blazing: the cellphone included all of the high-end specs out there for the time, a refined software program expertise that revered the consumer, and an exterior {hardware} bundle that appears each bit as good-looking in the present day because it did almost a decade in the past. Quite a bit has modified within the shopper electronics business within the years since, and regardless of HTC’s retreat from the flagship device space, its 10 stands as a testomony to timeless phone-making experience.

They do not make smartphones like they used to

The HTC 10 is every thing the fashionable cellphone business is not

When selecting up the HTC 10 in 2025, it is instantly obvious that the product is a relic of a bygone period. That is to not say the cellphone feels antiquated — on the contrary, it evokes a way of modernism regardless of its chunky bezels, its bodily navigation keys, and its single rear-facing digicam module. Externally, the ten holds up fantastically. Its rounded, unibody steel construct, its weighted mass, and its distinctive beveled edge all come collectively in a satisfying approach that makes the system feel and appear extremely luxurious.

Philosophically, the HTC 10 is the literal antithesis of recent high-end cellphone design. Other than the plain lack of a glass rear panel, the cellphone gives now-extinct niceties like a microSD card slot, a notification LED blinker, a high-quality headphone jack with customized DAC and amplifier tech, a selfie digicam with optical picture stabilization, and a capacitive fingerprint sensor. I respect the smaller dimension of the system (its 5.2-inch display screen appeared large for the time, however feels compact on reflection), and the clicky, ribbed energy button continues to be essentially the most satisfying button I’ve ever pressed on a cellphone.

That is to not say that the ten was good: for its time, the system lacked just a few options that have been turning into more and more commonplace amongst competing flagships. This features a extra strong IP water and dust resistance score, an always-on OLED show, and Qi wireless charging. However, the ten provided speedier 5 Gbps USB-C switch speeds, extra environment friendly Qualcomm Fast Cost 3.0 charging tech, and stereo audio system earlier than these all turned normal business fare.

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HTC Sense was the perfect pores and skin within the sport

On the time, it made Sense to complement the Android expertise with an overlay

In its heyday, HTC’s Sense overlay atop of Android was best-in-class. ‘Inventory’ Android from Google was nonetheless tough across the edges, and competing software skins from Samsung and LG have been bloated with out paying thoughts to the overarching consumer expertise. Sense was completely different — it was engaging and but restrained, it averted the pitfall of app and repair duplication we nonetheless see on up to date telephones to this present day, and it added in considerate additions like screen-tapping gestures, the BlinkFeed information curator, and an Excessive Energy Saving Mode.

The HTC 10 launched with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the field, and it was supported by way of Android 8.0 Oreo. Its Sense UI stays pleasing to this present day, although its look has naturally fallen out of visible vogue as time has marched onward. Different Android cellphone makers have since stepped up their software program sport fairly significantly, however in my view, solely Google’s Pixel UX comes near matching the interface craftsmanship of 2016-era HTC Sense.

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The HTC 10 is the top of pre-modern cellphone design

HTC’s ‘Quietly Good’ design ethos was as soon as an unmatched drive

At a time when Samsung, LG, and others have been trekking in a single route, HTC was doubling down on the fundamentals with the ten. The cellphone mastered all of the necessities, and it supplied an end-user expertise that I believe again on fondly. I miss the times of stable, industrial-feeling steel telephones, and I miss the times of microSD playing cards and high-quality headphone jacks, too.

HTC went on to launch the U11 in 2017, adopted by the U12 Extremely the 12 months after. These gadgets, which might find yourself being the ultimate flagship HTC choices on a aggressive scale, would succumb to numerous business pressures. These U-series merchandise would take away the headphone jack, axe the steel unibody, and lean into gimmicky additions like a squeezable body and a long-forgotten AI Sense Companion characteristic.

A lot of HTC’s phone-making expertise was bought out by Google in 2017, making the fashionable Pixel collection a type of successor line to some extent. Early Pixels, together with the first-generation mannequin, have been in reality constructed by HTC. Even with its decreased business prominence in 2025, I might like to see a real non secular successor to the ten make its approach onto retailer cabinets. In a sea of bezel-less glass sandwiches, HTC has a chance to make steel, wired audio, expandable storage, and even its Sense overlay cool once more. When you’re at it, why not carry again the HTC One’s iconic front-firing audio system, too, HTC?

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