HTC is updating its mid-range line of smartphones with a model that helps show that today’s mid-range is yesterday’s top-of-the-line.
The HTC Desire 820 may not have a metal case or a full HD display, but it’s got one of Qualcomm’s first 64-bit processors, a big screen, and a 13MP rear camera… as well as an 8MP front-facing camera.
The front camera doesn’t have a flash or support for auto-focus, but it’ll let you take higher-resolution selfies than most cameras. I suppose you could also use it for video conferencing. Both the front and rear cameras can record 1080p video.
The HTC Desire 820 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor. That’s one of the chip maker’s first 64-bit chips and it pairs four 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores with four more 1 GHz Cortex-A53 cores and Adreno 405 graphics.
Other features include a 5.5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage plus a microSD card for up to 128GB of removable storage.
The phone supports 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4G LTE, NFC, and GPS. It has a 2600mAh battery for up to 22 hours of talk time (over 3G networks).
The HTC Desire 820 has stereo front-facing speakers and a plastic case that will be available in a variety of colors when the phone launches this fall.
You probably won’t see the full benefit of 64-bit processors in Android phones until Google releases Android L this fall. That’ll be the first version of the operating system to truly support 64-bit architecture, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this phone (and others with similar chips) launch at around the same time as Android L. And if that’s not the case, the phone can handle 32-bit software as well.
This is a pretty awesome device for a “mid-range phone”. I’d love to know the price. I’m not too fond of the two tone design though. According to the spec sheet, it even has aptX audio and DLNA wireless streaming – impressive.
Title says 8MB front facing camera, should be MP.