HTC 10 hands-on: Can this all-new, all-metal phone take down the Galaxy S7?

My first glimpse of the HTC 10 was in the hands of the executive who flew from Taiwan to San Francisco to say: "We believe that the HTC 10 is all about perfection."

OK, then. Make me believe.

Up close with the streamlined metal HTC 10 (pictures)

+11 More

See all photos

But HTC's major Android phone didn't wow me during our hands-on time together. Maybe it can't ever. CNET will, of course, lovingly review the 10's ins and outs at our first opportunity. But for now, after a good chunk of time with it, this is what I see: a pretty-enough, powerful-enough device with some competitive hardware specs. A phone like any other major Android phone. Not especially different in my brief experience so far, but competent like it should be. (Skip to the end for the full specs list.)

Picking up the 5.2-inch HTC 10 for the first time, I noticed the matte finish that won't gum up with fingerprints and some aggressively chamfered edges that form the phone's only real design character, unless you count the ridged power and lock button on the side. It's kind of cool and different that there's no fingerprint-reading home button you physically push to go home, unlock, and pull up Google Now. There's a slightly recessed trough that senses your digits instead, and it works really well.

The 10 is a bit bigger than the iPhone 6S and about the same size as Samsung's Galaxy S7 when I held them side by side. HTC's phone feels solid and heavy, because it's all aluminum. Since I seem to be the klutziest phone reviewer on the planet, the 10 fell onto the sidewalk while I was walking. I'm actually really impressed that it only sustained some scuffed edges and not terrible gouges or a cracked screen. This time. (But please don't be like me. Use a case!)

Android 6.0 Marshmallow worked fast and smoothly, no surprises here. Extremely eagle-eyed HTC fans will notice that the 10 drops some apps, like HTC's gallery, in favor of Google apps, like Photos.

New cameras, loud and proud audio

Opening HTC's native camera app shows you a made-over menu that seems pretty sensible so far, but it's too early to say anything definitive about the photo quality on the 12-megapixel (oh excuse me, "Ultrapixel") camera and front-facing 5-megapixel camera (which comes with optical image stabilization -- an industry first, as far as I know). Autofocus did seem snappy, but I had some questions about the camera's color accuracy. Rest assured, we'll test both cameras silly by the time the full review rolls around.

Listening to music and watching videos was awesome when I plugged in the included high-definition earbuds (which HTC says are worth about $100), even at the lowest volume level. When I pulled out the headphones and turned up the volume, audio (21 Pilots this time) flooded the room. You'll have to watch where you put your hands so you don't cover the mics, and you'll muffle the sound if you turn the phone face down.

If you like what you're reading so far, keep an eye out for the HTC 10 to launch globally in black and gray, white and silver, black and silver or gold. Preorders for the unlocked version start today, April 12, for $700 from HTC.com in the US or £569 in the UK. Australian prices are yet to be announced but the UK price converts to around AU$1,060. The phone will begin shipping in early May.

Keep scrolling for all the hardware specs.