HTC's U11 might be less gimmicky now.

The HTC U11 has an Edge Sense function that lets you squeeze its sides to launch a range of things. In our review of the device, we said you could turn off Edge Sense and you'd know no difference. Sure, it's something that only HTC offers (though it might be on Google's new Pixel phones), but for us, it just didn't add anything to the experience, and it doesn't make it a better phone.

HTC is now hoping to change that by rolling out a beta update to Edge Sense, via the Play Store. It adds new default actions for Edge Sense and the ability to make your own shortcuts for any app installed on your phone. Just go into Edge Sense controls and select the option to add a new app. You can add more than one action for a squeeze in an app, but only one shortcut per app can be active at a time.

Remember, this feature is still technically in beta, so you might run into glitches. We're really interested in trying it out and seeing if it makes the whole squeezing-thing less gimmicky and more useful. Let us know in the comments what you think, too.