[rwp-review id=”0″]
When considering a mid-range smartphone, one has to be prepared to sacrifice a few things here and there. Whether it’s a lower megapixel camera, a slower processor, limited connectivity (3G vs LTE) or, in some cases, just a lesser attractive, bulkier device. Thankfully, with the new HTC Desire EYE, you won’t be losing out on much, at a more attractive price. Plus, it’s water resistant.
The Desire EYE is a phone that both looks and feels good. Unlike the One family of devices, it’s an all-plastic design, but doesn’t come across as cheap. In fact, the dual colors (mine is white and red) make it a young, trendy phone.
It’s by no means a small device. But even with a 5.2-inch display, t’s slim and easily fits into a pocket. The width requires two-handed typing, but then, all devices are going in that direction.
A self-proclaimed “selfie” device, it holds a 13-megapixel camera on the rear and a 13-megapixel camera on the front. And that’s not all – the Desire EYE has a quadcore Snapdragon 801 with 2GB RAM and 5.2-inch Full HD IPS screen, which means it’s a challenger to most flagship devices out there, in terms of specs.
Design
The phone has a nice feel – the plastic does not come off as cheap, and the back is matte, which makes it easier to hold. Unlike metal devices, the plastic body is quite rugged and can take a few knocks without much to show for it.
The buttons on this are a bit tricky. They seem somewhat flimsy and almost too close to the surface of the phone, making them hard to find and hard to get much reaction out of – especially the hardware camera button (yes, it’s got one!) The nano-SIM and microSD slot are kept well protected with small rubber seals. And for good reason – remember how I said it’s water resistant? Yes, for 30 minutes in up to 1m of water, so take it for a short dip, but stay away form the ocean!
Display
The 5.2-inch display on the HTC Desire EYE is quite bright and colourful. The 1080p resolution is sharp enough for most usage – crisp and clear text and a large screen for browsing and games. The brightness, in fact, is a little better than the HTC One M8, so it’s great to use outdoors in the sun.
Cameras
The key selling point on this device is the near identical 13MP camera on both the back and the front. Near identical, because the front facing lens allows for a wider angle, with 22mm, as opposed to the 28mm on the rear camera. Group selfies are going to be a thing with this one, if they aren’t already.
Another rarely seen feature is the dual flash on both cameras, allowing for better pictures under dark conditions with the front-facing camera, which becomes important on nights out. This also allows for less background noise on the photos, which is a serious peeve with front cameras.
The rear camera performs better on capturing landscapes and larger backgrounds, while the front camera is more for up close and personal shots – a thumbs up to HTC for getting each camera optimized for its most common usage.
Battery
For a large screen that requires quite an amount of juice, the Desire EYE doesn’t quite cut it for me. I’d love to be taking photos all day with this one, but it’s battery life is nowhere near that of the HTC One M8. It’ll last a day on normal usage, but do put it on charge before you sleep or you’ll likely wake up to that red battery signal, and want to charge it while you try to deal with morning schedules before going off to work.
The Verdict
Although the cameras are what the buzz is all about, the HTC Desire EYE packs enough features to be a great phone by itself. If there’s one thing the HTC Desire series was missing, it was a flagship, and the HTC Desire EYE is just that.
