The HTC Desire 820 Review

When we talk about mid-range devices, HTC is the company that seems to take the most pride in their build quality and design.  Several of HTC’s mid-range devices feel like flagship models, even if there specs are not near that level.

In this review, we’re going to look at the HTC Desire 820, the newest mid-range phone offered by HTC.  We’re going to look at its design, build and specs to see how it stacks up with other mid-range offerings.

Design

• Looks very much like the Desire 816 which was released by HTC earlier this year.
• The HTC Desire 820 still has the glossy polycarbonate body with rounded corners and sides that we saw in the Desire 816. However, the design of the HTC Desire 820 is now completely unibody which also makes it much thinner than the HTC Desire 816.

• The design of the HTC Desire 820 uses accent colors. These accent colors are not only a nice touch to spice up a plain looking phone but they are a way to make this phone stand out.
• A downside to the HTC Desire 820’s design is the fact that it is a little slippery.
• All in all the design of the HTC Desire 820 leaves you with a phone that feels and looks solid while being very light.
• The HTC Desire 820 uses big bezels.
• The power button and volume rocker of the phone are placed on its right side.
• There is a 3.5 mm headset jack on top and a micro USB port on the bottom.
• The left side of the HTC Desire 820 has a plastic flap where you can find a SD card slot as well as 2 sim slots.
• The Desire 820 has a front-facing Boomsound speaker.

Display

• The HTC Desire 820 uses a 5.5-inch display screen. This has a 720p resolution.
• Because of the screen size, the display is not that sharp but it’s still capable of natural and accurate color as well as a good amount of brightness.
• Viewing angles and outdoor visibility of the HTC Desires 820 screen is very good.
• The screen experience of the HTC Desire 820 is very good for a mid-range device.

Performance

• The HTC Desire 820 is one of the few currently available Android devices that have a 64-bit processor.
• The HTC Desire 820 uses a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 with an octa-core processor. This is accompanied by an Adreno 405 GPU with 2 GB of RAM.
• While Android doesn’t really support 64-bit yet, the HTC Desire 820 is ready for when the next Android version rolls it out.
• The HTC Desire 820 is a responsive phone that works fast and smoothly. The experience actually feels high-end.

Camera

• Though it is their mid-range phone, HTC has equipped the Desire 820 with a camera with a higher megapixel count then their flagship HTC One M8.
• The HTC Desire 820 has a 13 MP camera with sensor and LED flash.
• The camera can take some high resolution photos with good color in good lighting conditions. However, there is a tendency for the exposure and white balance to be off.
• Photos tend to be either overexposed or underexposed.
• In low light, there is a lot of noise, making it almost impossible to get a good sot.
• The camera app comes with HDR which can help create a more balanced shot.
• The front-facing camera is 8MP.
• The camera interface is clean and easy to use.
• There is a new mode known as Photobooth which allows several photos to be taken in succession and placed together like in a photo booth.

Battery

• The HTC Desire 820 has a 2,600 mAh battery.
• Testing showed that you can get up to 13 to 16y hours of use with around 3.5 to 4 hours of screen-on time. This is about a full day on a single charge.

Software

• HTC Desire 820 runs Android 4.4 KitKat and uses Sense 6. This is standard for HTC devices.
• HTC Desire 820 has Blinkfeed which is a social and news aggregator that is similar to Flipboard.

If you were already a fan of HTC’s product, and don’t necessarily want to spend top dollar for their flagship products, the HTC Desire 820 is a phone you would want to consider.  Aside from the display and the camera, the HTC Desire 820 offers you an experience that is quite near “flagship” quality.

While there are currently no plans for the HTC Desire 820 to be launched in the U.S., U.S. users will be able to find a unit quite easily online.  Online, the HTC desire goes for around $400-500 if unlocked.  While this is not that much cheaper then flagship devices such as the LG G3 or even HTC’s own One M8, in other areas of the globe, the HTC Desire 820 is available for less.

What do you think about the HTC Desire 820?

JR

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