Pinchy strider

HTC takes another step away from mainstream conformity with a squeezable beauty that also happens to be a great smartphone.

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US$710 / htc.com

This might be the year of barely there bezels and dual-camera cleverness, but for the U11, HTC has gone for something different. It’s a world’s first: a handset with hug-friendly haptics.

Those squeeze-sensitive touch panels at the sides give you a new way to interact with your phone – one that doesn’t involve tapping on a touch screen. If developers support it, and HTC gets the customisable app ready for download, it could be really useful. The accessibility potential for people who struggle with standard phones is huge.