HTC U Ultra Gets A One-Time Spring Price Cut

The HTC U Ultra is perhaps the company's most controversial smartphone yet. The hardest pill to swallow about it, especially given criticisms, is its price tag. Though $750 is actually right up there with Samsung's and Apple's flagships, some argue that a lower figure would have helped sweeten the U Ultra to the market. HTC is addressing that complaint, albeit very temporarily. To welcome the Spring season, it is putting the HTC U Ultra on a time-limited sale that chops a good $150 off its regular retail price.

There is no denying that the HTC U Ultra is shiny. It is, after all, literally shiny. And, on paper, its spec sheet has the makings of a fine early 2017 flagship. But that isn't its problem. Its problem is the lack of compelling features that would differentiate it from its peers, especially less expensive ones.

The HTC Sense Companion suffers the same fate that Bixby will this week: a rather crippled launch experience that won't stand against something simpler but more functional like Google Assistant. The USB-C based audio technologies don't exactly make up for the absence of HTC's own BoomSound. And the cameras, while quite good, isn't exactly mind-blowing.

So some would argue that the HTC U Ultra doesn't deserve its $750 price tag, especially in lieu of the cheaper but more memorable LG G6 and the more expensive but feature-packed Samsung Galaxy S8. Maybe if the price were lower, the smartphone would sell better. For the span of a week, HTC will give them exactly that.

From 17th to 23rd April, HTC is shaving off $150 from the HTC U Ultra. That means, for a week, the smartphone will cost only $599. That is, if you buy it from htc.com and nowhere else. Whether that's enough to pull in interested buyers, we'll have to wait after the week is over. But in case you're more interested in older models, the HTC 10 is also $200 off, the waterproof HTC BOLT is $150, and the iPhone-esque HTC One A9 is $300 off. Only this week as well.