HTC has unveiled a new pair of #powerof10 devices — the HTC Desire 10 Pro and Desire 10 Lifestyle — which are designed to fit in to an incredibly competitive mid-range market. However, it doesn’t look particularly like the devices are ready for the slugfest as one of them comes equipped with a 3-year-old entry-level processor.
If there was one thing that does tip things in the Desire 10’s favour is the way it looks. It certainly stands out in the sea of similar looking metal mid-range devices with its bright colours and metallic finishes. Don’t be fooled, however, as the device is entirely plastic. The laser etched metallic accents are just there to look pretty, but are all completely plastic.
The biggest difference between the devices would be in the specifications. Siting on top of the Desire 10 range is the more powerful Pro. It comes with a MediaTek Helio P10 processor with either 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage or 3GB RAM + 32GB of storage combo. Storage is also expandable via a microSD card for up to 2TB of extra space. Keeping everything running is a 3,000 mAh battery, while a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor takes care of security.
In front, it gets a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display plus a row of capacitive touch buttons. Besides that, you also get a 13-megapixel front-facing camera that has the ability to shoot 150-degree wide-angle selfies with the help of software (similar to Samsung’s wide-selfie). At the back you’ll find a 20-megapixel shooter with laser autofocus and an f/2.2 aperture lens.
When it comes to software, the Desire 10 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with HTC’s Sense skin running on top. It will also come with HTC’s Freestyle Layout (similar to that on the HTC 10) that gives you more customisation options.
Connectivity support includes Dual-SIM 4G LTE (TDD and FDD bands), Bluetooth 4.2, NFS and 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz) WiFi.
On the other hand, the lower-end Desire 10 Lifestyle gets a 1.6GHz Snapdragon 400 processor (the same one as the Redmi 1s which was launched back in 2014) mated to 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. You do still get microSD expansion for up to an additional 2TB of storage.
Besides that, the Desire 10 Lifestyle will also see a lower resolution 5.5-inch 720p display and a smaller 2,700 mAh battery. It also loses the fingerprint sensor at the back. Its cameras also get a bump down as the front unit is now a 5-megapixel f/2.8 shooter while the back is a 13MP unit with an f/2.2 aperture lens.
But here’s the catch. HTC’s Desire 10 Lifestyle does have a trick up its sleeve that the more powerful Desire 10 Pro doesn’t and that’s a 24-bit Hi-Res audio DAC (digital to analogue converter). This means you will be able to enjoy glorious Hi-Res audio, something you can’t do on the HTC Desire 10 Pro.
These are rather interesting devices from HTC, but the key thing that will define its success in this highly competitive market would be their prices. HTC themselves have not revealed the official pricing of their mid-range duo, choosing instead to leave it up to retailers in the specific regions that this device will go on sale for. So I suppose the best thing we can do is wait and see.
What do you guys think would be a fair price for the Desire duo? Let me know in the comments below!
