- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
HTC Sensation XL
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- 3.5G
- 4.7"
- 1.5 GHz
Announced October, 2011
Rated 70% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)It's stylish, easy to use, has a great camera, the large screen has some benefits and the Beat Audio headphones we know will appeal to some.
Features Key features of the HTC Sensation XL
1.5 GHz
Android 2.3 Gingerbread 3.5G
by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)As for the HTC Sensation XL performance with headphones plugged in, it's pretty good, but not quite as impressive.
screen size
4.7"
5.5"
4"
Sensation XL by c|net (Oct, 2011)It feels rather big in small hands, but the payoff is that you get a very generous and colorful display for watching videos or surfing the Web.
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)On the contrary - we really like the big fella, but with a screen this size it will be rejected by many people as too large.
screen resolution
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)It was obviously not an option for the Titan (WP7 supports only WVGA for now) but Android scales happily to higher resolutions (720p resolution would have been amazing on the XL's screen).
memory
| 0 GB | 2 GB  | 2 GB |
processor
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Surprisingly, the XL was faster than the dual-core XE (that one had software issues we think).
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The HTC Raider 4G has a slightly smaller screen - 4.5" - but it is qHD and you get a more powerful chipset (dual core, 1GB RAM), expandable memory, and MHL TV-Out.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 8 MP  | 8 MP |
Sensation XL by c|net (Oct, 2011)There's also an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture, and it features several cool camera features like an automatic panorama mode.
Sensation XL by fannycr27 (Jun, 2012)I love it, it's fast, the resolution of the camera is very good, works with android and to me that's a ver y important point to evaluate, it's really awesome.
Performance Real world tests of HTC Sensation XL
cpu speed
Sensation XL by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)It's screen is low res, it's processor is slower than the competition, and all told other handsets simply offer more for the money.
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Granted, the single-core CPU won't give you boasting rights with your geeky friends and screen density could be pushed a bit higher.
browser benchmark
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The fast boot feature is enabled on the HTC Sensation XL but it won’t work if you have removed the battery – in that case it will do a regular slow boot.
Sensation XL by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)Running a quick benchmark, the Qualcomm chip proved its raw power by scoring 2889ms in SunSpider, beating the 3780ms of the 1GHz HTC Rhyme but falling behind the 2261ms of the HTC Evo 3D.
download speed
talk time
709 min
300 min
480 min
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Those numbers compare favorably against the competition, except the video playing performance, which is 2-3 hours behind the leaders of the pack.
Sensation XL by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The battery lived long in 3G calls - 9 hours and 30 minutes, longer than the advertised 6 hours and 50 minutes.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
3.5 mm -
Android Market (Android) -
Capacitive -
8 MP -
1.5 GHz -
4.7" -
8 MP -
709 min -
Listen to music and news from local radio stations -
16 GB -
Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation -
Share your cellphone's data plan with other devices -
10 mm
cons
-
limited to the phone's built-in storage for apps and data -
162 g -
1280 x 720 @ Unknown -
None -
Single core -
Android 2.3 Gingerbread -
Some newer payment by phone methods require NFC -
Doesn't support the fastest, most reliable networks -
197 ppi -
Reviews Word on the street
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 | Rated by 15 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by swayz (Feb, 2013) Rated 80% by by Sonny-J.-de-los-Reyes (May, 2012) Rated 40% by by Ivan (Sep, 2012) |
Screen
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Resolution aside, the screen is one of the best we've seen by HTC - it has brilliant viewing angles (there's some minor contrast loss, but that's it) and colors are very vivid.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)We measured the brightness and contrast of the Sensation XL's screen and (expectedly) it turned out very close to that of the Titan.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Still, the sizable screen means you'll have trouble reaching the top items on the display, at least at first.
Apps
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The Sensation XL's browser also supports double tap zooming and text reflow, which makes even longer texts extremely easy to read on the phone display.
HTC Sensation XL | Rated 70% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)All the basics, from email to web browsing, are easy to use and powerful, and you get a huge amount of versatility thanks to the customisability of the software and the wealth of apps in the app store.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)You can mass delete emails or mark them as read too (you can't perform other operations en masse like you can in Gmail though).
Video
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)It’s got excellent build quality and a solid set of features, but it would be hard to recommend against any of the flagships, in whose category it’s unfortunate to be.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The video quality isn't bad for a 720p shooter, but the high compression does away with most of the fine detail.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Movies, picture and even the UI itself look more impressive on the XL than they do on the XE, despite the higher resolution of the latter.
Operating system
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The Scenes are pretty cool - especially since they grew an extra feature, Backlight HDR, which previous versions of HTC's camera software lack.
HTC Sensation XL | Rated 70% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)The HTC Sensation XL runs Android 2.3.5 with HTC Sense 3.5 running on top of this (it will also be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in due course).
HTC Sensation XL | Rated 100% by by Nicki-Chen--nicki (Apr, 2013)For more than 5 months, I haven't had any hardware or software issues.
Ports
HTC Sensation XL | Rated 70% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)Now these aren't to our tastes at all as they blast out far too much bass, making everything sound a bit muffled, but if you're a fan of big booming bass – or more specifically the Beats Audio sound – then you'll love them.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)The HTC Sensation XL is one multimedia beast with its Dr. Dre-inspired audio, impressively spec'd camera and huge display and it's also keen to give users the proper smartphone experience with the tried and tested Gingerbread and Sense combo.
HTC Sensation XL | by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Beats Audio and HTC Enhancer presets are available in the video player.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | LG Nexus 4 Highest resolution screen LG Nexus 4 vs HTC Sensation XL |
 | 2 | LG Optimus L9 4-way tie: Has a removable battery LG Optimus L9 vs HTC Sensation XL |
 | 3 | HTC Sensation XE 4-way tie: Has a removable battery Sensation XE vs Sensation XL |
 | 4 | Samsung Galaxy Note II Rated the best by consumers Samsung Galaxy Note II vs HTC Sensation XL |
 | 5 | Sony Xperia P OK standby time Sony Xperia P vs HTC Sensation XL |
 | 6 | Apple iPhone 5 Most built-in storage Apple iPhone 5 vs HTC Sensation XL |
 | 7 | Nokia Lumia 820 2-way tie: Longest battery life during active use Nokia Lumia 820 vs HTC Sensation XL |
 | 8 | HTC One S 3-way tie: Screen uses OLED technology One S vs Sensation XL |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Popular Questions
December 20, 2012
Processing power, sound, video/photo clarity, battery life
I am an engineer. i am looking forward for a new phone. kindly advice which is good. i can afford the price of sensation xl. looking forward for beats audio. kindly advice which the best phone...
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December 12, 2012
Battery life
HTC fanboy and looking to upgrade from a Sensation XL to ONE XL. I don't mind at all turning off mobile data and wifi to save battery as I don't need 24/7 connections. I'm just wondering how the...
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Answers October 17, 2012
Switching from iPhone 4s to htc sensation XML
Which is better for web browsing and application?
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