HTC Sense
An Android interface (and Windows Mobile 6.5 on the HD2) that debuted on the HTC Hero in June 2009. It grew out of TouchFLO (2007) and TouchFLO 3D (2008). Distinctive elements: a large "flip" clock with weather, widgets, Scenes (sets of home screens), BlinkFeed (Sense 5+, 2013), Zoe and themes (Sense 7). Versions: 1.0 (Hero), 2.0 (Desire HD), 3.0 (Sensation, 3D carousel), 4.0 (One X), 5.0 (One M7), 6.0 (One M8), 7.0 (One M9), 8.0 (HTC 10, Freestyle Layout), 9 (U11), 10 (U12+). With the Desire 20 Pro (2020), HTC moved to nearly pure Android with minimal customization.
TouchFLO / TouchFLO 3D (2007–2009)
A finger-friendly interface on top of Windows Mobile. TouchFLO was on the HTC Touch (a cube with scrolling). TouchFLO 3D was on the Touch Diamond/Pro/HD, with animated tabs.
BoomSound (2013–2017)
Front-facing stereo speakers with separate amplifiers on the One M7/M8/M9. BoomSound Hi-Fi Edition (HTC 10, U11): a tweeter in the earpiece plus a woofer on the bottom. From the U12+, BoomSound used a "stereo from the top speaker plus the bottom one" format without front grilles.
UltraPixel (2013–2018)
A marketing name for sensors with large pixels: 4 MP with 2.0 µm pixels (One M7/M8, 2013–2014), when competitors had 1.1–1.4 µm at the time. UltraPixel 2 was 12 MP at 1.55 µm (HTC 10, U Ultra), UltraPixel 3 was 12 MP at 1.4 µm with Dual Pixel AF (U11), and UltraPixel 4 (U12+). The idea was ahead of the market: Google Pixel and Apple later did the same thing with 12 MP.
Duo Camera (2014)
A second camera on the One M8 used only to build a depth map: UFocus (refocusing after capture), Foregrounder and Dimension Plus (pseudo-3D). One of the first dual-camera smartphones (after the LG Optimus 3D and HTC EVO 3D).
Zoe and Video Highlights (2013)
Zoe is a 3-second video clip plus 20 photos with one press; Video Highlights is automatic editing set to music. It was released as a standalone Zoe app for Android (2014).
Edge Sense (2017–2019)
Pressure sensors in the side edges of the U11: a squeeze launches an app, the camera or the assistant. Edge Sense 2 (U12+) added detection of which hand the phone is in, and a double tap on the edges. Google copied the idea (Active Edge, Pixel 2).
HTC Sense Companion (2017)
An AI assistant in the U Ultra/U11 that gave tips about weather, battery and schedule. Shut down in 2019.
USonic (2017)
USB-C headphones that scan the ear canal with sound to build an individual profile; a version with active noise cancellation (U11).
Liquid Surface (2017–2018)
Glass bodies with a multilayer reflective coating (U Ultra, U11, U12+); the colors shift when tilted.
Motion Launch (2014)
Gestures on the One M8's switched-off screen: a double tap to wake, swipes to open BlinkFeed/widgets, and a rotation to place a call.
HTC Scribe (2011)
A digital pen for the Flyer tablet with buttons and Evernote notes.
Beats Audio (2011–2013)
A software and hardware sound profile and red-and-black headphones in the box (Sensation XE/XL, Rezound, One X, 8X). HTC owned 50.1% of Beats (2011) and sold its stake in 2012–2013; in 2014 Apple bought Beats for $3 billion.
Displays
HTC was among the first to introduce: a 4.3" capacitive display (HD2, 2009), 720p (Rezound, 2011), a 5" 1080p display (Butterfly/Droid DNA, 2012), and Super LCD (its own designation for Sony/Sharp/JDI IPS panels: SLCD, SLCD2, SLCD3, Super LCD5).
Bodies
Aluminum unibody (Legend 2010, Desire HD, Sensation), "zero gap" (One M7), micro-arc oxidation (One S, 2012), polycarbonate (One X, 8X), "Splatter" (Desire 530/630, 2016), Liquid Surface glass (2017) and "Translucent" (U11+/U12+).
ImageSense (2012)
A separate image-processing chip in the One X: 0.2 s autofocus, burst shooting at 4 fps, and photos while recording video.
HTC Zion (2018)
A hardware crypto wallet in the Exodus 1 based on ARM TrustZone; "Social Key Recovery" splits the key among trusted contacts (Shamir's scheme).