HTC Desire 616 Review

HTC has gathered some serious experience in making dual SIM smartphones. In the first time this Taiwanese manufacturer made less or more expensive dual SIM handsets, but soon they realized that there's no future in that. Instead of making unaffordable phones HTC decided to go down one step and start producing some middle prices devices. One of them is Desire 616. This is under 300 euros device with some very good thing to offer. Beside two SIM slots, the Desire 616 is offering octa-core processor and a very good display too. The 616 is starting its competition against Lumia 630 and Moto G. So, lets take a look together if Desire 616 is bringing something new in this segment in 2014, or it’s just an average dual SIM phone.

HTC Desire 616 Design

Don't try to compare this fellow with powerful and in aluminum build One M8. HTC Desire 616 is build of plastics and there are no sign of beautiful feel One M8 is making in hand. Instead of 90% aluminum body, Desire 616 is offering 100% plastic body shell. But, instead of mat finish the phone is covered by glossy plastic, just like Samsung is covering its phones. Because this kind of plastic is not as quality as the one from some earlier HTC's models, the phone is a real fingerprints magnet, and sometimes looks cheap. Around the phone you'll find a mat plastic frame, but it doesn't produce such an excitement like metallic frames on some more serious phones. The back panel is removable, so after taking it down you can reach the 2,000mAh battery and two SIM slots. Looking the phone's sides, you'll notice all hard buttons are placed on one place.

HTC Desire 616 Display

The 5-inch 720p display is ready to go. It's very good display and maybe the best part of this phone. The Lumia 630's display can't compete with this one, because simply this is far better display. The image quality is very good, but the great viewing angles and brightness are more that pleasant surprise. The colors are vivid and they match ones from more pricing models. This display is everything design isn't. Also, the phone pack lighting sensor, so that working experience is at top level. Just to mention Lumia 630 can't even dream about this sensor.

HTC Desire 616 Specs and Performance

This is first HTC's octa-core smartphone. It's powered by Mediatek 1.4GHz processor backed up by 1GB of RAM. Beside the WOW factor, this isn't condition for ultimate experience. Generally Desire 616 is working with no lags. The most of users will never notice they have bought a middle class smartphone. Ok, Desire 616 isn't completely resistant to some smaller delays when opening more demanding apps and browsing are about, but no big deal. This phone definitely suits to average user's demands. If you plan to play some new and demanding games you should think twice before buying Desire 616. No matter it has eight cores under the hood, the 616 is still running in some less efficient way than Snapdragon counterpart. If you plan to take a chance on playing games, you should try Moto G with Qualcomm processor. The battery life isn't hard question for Desire 616. The phone is an average energy consumer, so you don't have to worry if the phone will shut down before the end of the day. The video playback time is also about the average and the phone can stand in this mode for several hours. HTC has spoiled us with BoomSound speakers. HTC One M8 is a device with the best speakers in the market. Instead of these loud and clear speakers, the Desire 616 got only classic mono speaker with no intention to compare with this giant. The phone has one more thing which makes him one step back comparing with premium models. The UI isn't like we expect. Ok, Desire 616 has HTC's Sense, but some features are missing. Everything looks like a stock Android, but it works just fine.

HTC Desire 616 Camera

This Desire has one more better thing to offer than Lumia 630. It's camera. This 8MP cam is making some very good photos. They're better that we expected. The photos are with plenty of details, but not as much as some more priced HTCs. The cam is very responsive and it works speedy. Of course, the middle class phone can't make some outstanding photos. From time to time the photos can get some grey areas and blurred edges, but generally speaking the cam is good. The 2MP front-facing camera isn't good that much because its photos are grey (more that it should be) and they look washed out.

HTC Desire 616 Verdict

The Desire 616 stands on the crossroad. It isn't expensive. I would prefer saying it's priced accurately. It has a lot to offer, but also it brings some drawbacks which might push away some buyers. The pros for this phone are very good 720p display, and 8MP camera and octa-core processor, but not cheap and shiny plastic body. If you play to spend under 300 euros for new dual SIM, I think you should try with Desire 616. Photos: htc.com