HTC Desire 10 Line Seeks To Break The Mold [UPDATE]
In the past, HTC Desire devices were known for their ability to entice at a level just below that of the brand's hero smartphone line. They've always been fine phones, and they've always had price points that put them in direct contention with the best in the mid-range market around the world. Now, with the HTC Desire 10 pro, the company would – at first – appear to be doing something entirely new.
Two models are being introduced this week, both inside the Desire 10 brand. One is the Desire 10 pro, the other is the Desire 10 lifestyle. Before we get too explicitly excited about how these devices look and possibly act, it's important to note that HTC suggests "for the current announcement" they are focused on "international markets outside the US."
While the Desire 10 series could be coming to the USA – and it very well may – it'll happen a bit down the road.
HTC suggests that the HTC Desire 10 line has been "inspired by the Art Deco movement in art and design," and takes on "the spirit of luxury and modernism: bold, precise, geometric metallic lines." While the back and sides are largely matte in finish, the gold lines are metallic, and shine and reflect as such.
The big difference between the Desire 10 pro and Desire 10 lifestyle is in their display: the lifestyle has a 720p display while the pro sports a 1080p display. Both will be available in a variety of colors, including what HTC has named Stone Black, Polar White, Royal Blue, and Valentine Lux.
The back of the pro includes a 20-megapixel camera – this device also has its own fingerprint reader and up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
ABOVE: HTC Desire 10 pro.
BELOW: HTC Desire 10 lifestyle.
The pro includes a branded HTC BoomSound audio profile for external audio while the lifestyle doesn't. We'll have to experience both to know what that really ends up meaning to the end user.
The Desire 10 lifestyle has the same audio hardware as the HTC 10 – that means High-Res audio support (again, we'll have to see exactly what that'll mean down the line), stereo external speakers, and a built-in headphone jack audio amplifier.
NOTE: The Desire 10 pro has no standard headphone jack, instead relying on micro-USB headphones to do the job.
Update: Both Desire 10 lifestyle and pro do have the 3.5mm headphone jack on top of the phone.
The Desire 10 lifestyle has what might appear at first to be a very different, rather interesting-looking port. That's no port at all, as it turns out – it's a pair of lanyard holes!
Pricing on both devices will be different depending on location. One example pricing HTC has given is Europe-based and for the Desire 10 lifestyle, which will there cost "sub-€300". The Desire 10 pro's cost will be "above the Desire 10 lifestyle and below HTC 10."
The Desire 10 pro will be available near November, while the Desire 10 lifestyle will be available at the end of September.