HTC Bolt

HTC Bolt, on its unibody aluminum surface, looks and feels like a larger 5.5-inch version of HTC’s flagship, the HTC 10. However, when you dig deeper, you’ll find that the Bolt is a phone full of compromises and flawed software.

The HTC Bolt is a Sprint exclusive in the US (and known as the HTC 10 Evo in the UK and elsewhere) and it's one of the first phones to run Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Nougat is an excellent update for Android fans, but, here, the experience is tainted on the Bolt thanks to the atrocious amount of bloatware installed on the phone.

Sure, HTC’s design language and legendary build quality are present in the Bolt, but the outdated hardware, frustrating software and, worst of all, high price, make it difficult to recommend. 

With the excellent HTC 10 only $49 more than the Bolt, it’s hard to vouch for this phablet, unless you desperately need a large screen.

HTC Bolt price and release date

• Costs $600, or $25/month for 24 months with good credit
• Available now through Sprint in the US
• Called the HTC 10 Evo in the UK and elsewhere

Looking at the specs and price of the HTC Bolt, it’s apparent you’ll be paying a premium for last year’s technology. The Bolt features last year’s Snapdragon 810 chip, which can be found in the Hauwei Nexus 6P.

When you look at phones in the $400 range, it gets even harder to justify the price tag of the HTC Bolt. For example, the excellent OnePlus 3T has the latest Snapdragon 821, 6GB of RAM and a headphone jack (more on this later). The ZTE Axon 7 also features a Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM.

The $600 price point puts the HTC Bolt up against flagship phones like the iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7. At this price, the Bolt is simply outclassed by the competition in terms of performance and features.

To make matters worse, the HTC Bolt is a Sprint exclusive, so you won't find it available on AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. 

If you happen to be stuck on Sprint, well, there's some good news: the Bolt is one of the fastest Android  phones on offer. But you’ll have to plop down your money knowing it could have bought you a better phone for the same price on another carrier.

Design

• Aluminum built feels great, albeit slippery
• Downward firing speaker gets loud, but quality is subpar

If you like HTC’s design language, you’ll love the Bolt. The HTC DNA is clear here with a satinized aluminum back, large chamfered edges that make it feel like a smaller phone, and a unique midnight blue color. The black on blue color scheme is understated and almost stealthy.

The HTC Bolt looks like a larger version of the HTC 10, but with a flat back instead of a curved one like HTC flagship. This makes the Bolt less comfortable to hold, but it’s not bad for a big phone.

On the front of the phone you’ll find a fingerprint sensor, capacitive buttons for back and multitasking and an 8MP 1080p webcam for video calls. On the rear, you’ll find a 16MP optically stabilized shooter with dual LED flash. On the left side of the phone you’ll find dual trays; one for your SIM card and one for microSD for expandable storage.

At the bottom of the phone you’ll find the HTC Bolt’s single USB-C port. That’s right, the HTC Bolt went full iPhone 7 and did away with its headphone jack. While HTC includes a pair of decent USB-C earbuds, the company failed to include a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter to use with your existing wired headphones, which is frustrating to say the least.

The phone is IP57 water resistant though, which means it can survive in up to 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. You shouldn’t go swimming with the Bolt but it will survive a spilled drink.

Interface and reliability

• HTC skin is light, but Sprint’s included bloatware is intrusive
• Dated processor combined with bloatware causes phone to stutter

The HTC Bolt comes with the latest Android 7.0 software out of the box with some enhancements done by HTC. There’s still the typical paginated app drawer and BlinkFeed is still a thing.

Having Android 7.0 out of the box is great, as other handset makers are still struggling to bring the updated version of Android to their handsets. Android 7.0 brings better notifications that let you reply directly from the notification shade, split-screen multitasking and an improved idle that sips battery.

But that’s there the good things end and where frustration begins. Never have we seen a phone loaded up with more bloatware than the HTC Bolt. Sprint is partially here to blame, as the carrier preloaded the phone with nearly 20 apps. Only about half of those can be deleted, so you’ll have to disable the rest. 

HTC is to blame for the other bloatware like News Republic, which feeds the BlinkFeed homepage its news. Seeing a conspiracy news story about UFOs from The Inquisitr is now how you should greet your new users. Thankfully News Republic and BlinkFeed can be disabled.

There are a slew of other apps that you’ll spend your first day of ownership trying to uninstall. For example, Napster, Lookout and just about every Amazon app comes preinstalled on the phone.

All of this bloatware comes at a price as well. Navigating around the HTC Bolt’s interface resulted in tons of micro-stutters and it’s most noticeable when you use a fast and fluid phone like the Google Pixel or OnePlus 3.

There are split second delays when opening apps, using the multitasking menu, or simply trying to take a photo. We caught ourselves taking duplicate shots by accident because of the lag we experienced when tapping the camera shutter button, which compelled us to press the button a second time. 

Music, movies and games

If you plan on listening to music with the HTC Bolt, be prepared to use your own bluetooth headphones or the included USB-C earbuds as there’s no USB-C to 3.5mm adapter included in the box. The included earbuds can apparently analyze the acoustic signature of your inner ears to tailor your sound, but they simply sound mediocre with bloated, uncontrolled bass and rolled off highs.

The HTC Bolt’s onboard speaker is down-firing, which is a disappointment as it can easily be covered up by your finger or palm. It gets very loud, but doesn’t sound very good. You won’t find a dual-speaker BoomSound setup like you will on the more expensive HTC 10.

Movies and video look good on the 5.5-inch quad HD screen, but it’s not class leading. The HTC Bolt comes with an LED backlit LCD display, which simply can’t match the contrast and color gamut of its competitors with OLED screens. 

In day to day use, it’s a perfectly good screen that’s incredible pixel dense and vibrant enough, though it’s quite dim outdoors. Just don’t look at it next to a phone with an OLED display and you’ll be quite happy.

Gaming performance is about what you’d expect from a year old processor. Some demanding games like CSR Racing 2 will disable some of the eye candy in order to make the gameplay fluid. Games also take a while to launch. 

Specs and performance benchmark

• Responsive, but there’s split-second lag all over the place.
• Processor and GPU are last year's model, which means the Bolt can’t keep pace with flagship phones

While the Snapdragon 810 processor that’s inside the HTC Bolt is no slouch, it simply can’t keep pace with today’s flagships rocking the newer Snapdragon 820/821. The newer chips sport better graphics and are more power efficient, leaving the Bolt feeling like a compromise.

For reference the HTC Bolt scored 86,555 in AnTuTu benchmark, compared to HTC 10’s 146,519 and the OnePlus 3’s 140,579. 

For storage, the HTC Bolt comes with 32GB onboard with the ability to add up to 2TB of adoptable storage via its microSD card slot. The microSD card slot is its own separate tray, found above the SIM card.

When you’re out of juice, the HTC Bolt features Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0. It’s not as fast as the latest Quick Charge 3.0 spec, but it’s still enough to fully charge the Bolt from dead in about an hour and a half.

Overall, the HTC Bolt is a decent performer if you can forgive its slight stutters from time to time. There’s no hiding the fact that the Bolt is running on outdated hardware, but casual users won’t notice. It’s 3GB of RAM is plenty for keeping apps alive in memory, but Android 7.0’s split screen multitasking will push the phone’s limits. 

Battery life

• Battery life is about average
• Android 7.0’s standby time is impressive

The HTC Bolt is a big phone and that means a big battery, sort of. The Bolt sports a 3,200mAh battery that has no problem lasting through a day, but won’t get you two days of use. The reason for the average battery life is the combination of the phone’s pixel-dense screen and less efficient processor.

Standby time is truly impressive. Android 7.0 does wonders with standby time, losing only 4% when left off the charger overnight.

For most users, the battery life of the HTC Bolt is just fine. You’ll still have to charge the phone very night but it will get most users through a full day without issue. It’s disappointing HTC couldn’t include the latest Quick Charge 3.0 spec, especially when the $99 ZTE ZMax Pro has the feature.

Camera

The Bolt’s 16MP camera produces good but not great photos. The camera performs its best in good lighting, producing accurate colors and good sharpness.

But even in the best light, the Bolt struggles with dynamic range. HDR mode helps a little, but images are still darker and softer than we’d like. Even worse, HDR mode is extremely laggy, taking seconds to finally take a shot

When the lights get dim, the Bolt’s camera struggles. You’ll have to hold steady as the camera tries to keep the shutter open longer to let in more light. This means moving subjects at night will be blurry. 

HTC’s camera app is good, but suffers from a few too many options. There are options for shooting video, hyperlapse, slow motion, panoramas, selfie panoramas and Zoe, which is like the iPhone’s Live Photos. Pros will be happy with the Bolt’s built-in RAW support and manual controls.

The biggest disappointment with the Bolt’s camera is its focusing speed. The camera constantly hunts for focus and tapping on your subject takes longer to focus than it should. This is especially noticeable when compared to the quick focusing of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and HTC 10.

The 8MP front facing camera is good, though it lacks sharpness. It’s perfectly good for video calls, but can’t match the sharpness of the 16MP front shooter on the OnePlus 3T. 

Who’s this for?

If you’re stuck on Sprint and want a big phone, the HTC Bolt isn’t a terrible choice. It’s one of the fastest phones available on the carrier, and the fastest running Android 7.0, taking advantage of LTE-Advance speeds.

Should you buy it?

No. The Bolt is simply too much money for what you get. When you consider the fact that the HTC 10 is just $49 more, it makes the already outdated Bolt hard to justify. If you can live with the smaller 5.2-inch screen, get the HTC 10 instead.

Competition

The HTC 10 is the Bolt’s natural alternative. HTC’s smaller flagship phone is a better value at just $49 more than the Bolt. For that money, you’ll get a faster camera, Quick Charge 3.0, a modern processor and the same tank-like build.

Full review: HTC 10 

iPhone 6S Plus

If you don’t have to stick with Android, the iPhone 6S Plus is around the same price as the Bolt on Sprint. This may be last year’s iPhone, but it’s still plenty fast. Apple’s software optimization and ability to push updates to its older models in a timely rate means the iPhone 6S Plus will continue being speedy for years.

Full review: iPhone 6S Plus

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

If you can afford to splurge a little more, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a great alternative. It’s water resistant, sports one of the best smartphone cameras on the market and features a beautiful curved edge screen. You’ll have to deal with Samsung’s skin and long waits for updates, but it’s a compelling package.

Full review: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge