HTC Desire 816 review: Heart's desire

21 May 2014
HTC has mostly stayed out of the phablet market but the segment is expanding so fast the Taiwanese can’t afford to keep snubbing it. The HTC Desire 816 is only the company's second phablet and it’s the first affordable one. It rides on the premium looks...

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  • M
  • Muthu
  • PAY
  • 22 May 2014

Smuti, 22 May 2014Seriously? In what way is it better then the Note 3 Neo.Exactly my point as well. Note 3 neo is far far superior and current price difference is more than worth it. I would choose note 3 neo anyday over htc desire 816 or Sony T2 ultra.

    • D
    • AnonD-266367
    • vaQ
    • 22 May 2014

    this is the first HTC device i got interested in. But in my country,they usually priced their phones quite high. So I'm town between this and Sony's T2 ultra.

      • b
      • badhana
      • YTY
      • 22 May 2014

      Flipkart shows single sim...but htc site shows dual sim.....confused....i want dual sim only....

        • A
        • Android Man
        • mqM
        • 22 May 2014

        wow looks good, and has great camera. better than the 4mp ultra pants. thats one the current models.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • g54
          • 22 May 2014

          Better than all other midrange phablet good htc

            • S
            • Smuti
            • pu4
            • 22 May 2014

            fact, 22 May 2014in overall 816 is the best mid-range phablet with some high... moreSeriously? In what way is it better then the Note 3 Neo.

              • f
              • fact
              • arb
              • 22 May 2014

              AnonD-246723, 22 May 2014Totally cant agree with you . T2 ultra is alot better for t... moresorry but 816 is better than t2 almost in every aspects..
              plus it sony devices even flagships have too lags in use although in flagships less but its not comparable with sense even screen,speaker, performance...
              especially 816 camera is great,

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • g54
                • 22 May 2014

                Excellent device good job htc

                  • D
                  • AnonD-234697
                  • utm
                  • 22 May 2014

                  i have used this phone and its pretty good....especially sense 6...coupled with kitkat...good to see htc providing latestsoftware....the speakers are as good as ever...and camera is also very good....its a little big fot my hands...so i went for the m8...and battery is good...dont go with capacity. ......and comparing with t2 ultra....this phone wins hands down...htc desire816..has better ram..better speakers...better software...

                    • D
                    • AnonD-266223
                    • 2@x
                    • 22 May 2014

                    Thanks for the Review gsmarena..........
                    it's good to know about the device before to buy and u really explained it good.....
                    I AM GOING TO BUY THIS DEVICE very soon it's ready to buy in market i have been waiting since the device launch in india........the device is gud and fast too so my vote for the device is 8/10 which is average for midrange device from a brand company like HTC
                    also if any could tell me when the device will be available......thnks in advance

                      • j
                      • james
                      • g54
                      • 22 May 2014

                      thank you for the review I will buy this desire 816
                      better than the note 3 neo
                      camera is amazing and the phone is fast

                        • M
                        • MSIOCGenie
                        • 0uI
                        • 22 May 2014

                        You can rearrange the options in the notification menu, there's a button for it right there.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-266117
                          • rJ9
                          • 22 May 2014

                          Seems like review is written by different person and some are keen to point out the shortcomings of this phone like inadequate processing power which they praised so much in moto g.and poor back plastic which is same as xperia t2 ultra.but in my opinion this is much better than t2 ultra as this has better ram front speakers ,LTE ,great quality sound and better skin with advance os version for same price.guys we need to cheer HTC for making more phones as value for money as this .please tell your opinions.

                            • D
                            • AnonD-246723
                            • PTG
                            • 22 May 2014

                            fact, 22 May 2014in overall 816 is the best mid-range phablet with some high... moreTotally cant agree with you . T2 ultra is alot better for the example . Its only decent mid ranger not even great thus far from best .

                              • M
                              • Muthu
                              • PAY
                              • 22 May 2014

                              fact, 22 May 2014in overall 816 is the best mid-range phablet with some high... moreI don't agree with you. In india, HTC desire 816 will cost Rs.24,000. Samsung galaxy note 3 neo costs about Rs.30,000. When you compare the CPU/GPU, note 3 neo is far far superior and the price difference is more than worth it. Just my view on this.

                                • f
                                • fact
                                • j0c
                                • 22 May 2014

                                in overall 816 is the best mid-range phablet with some high-end options like great and soft ui - beautifull and very good size for phablet - great camera - great speaker - nice screen..and most important adv in 816 is cost..
                                battery scores is very good too but not better than note series but its good.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-594
                                  • Nu@
                                  • 22 May 2014

                                  badhana, 22 May 2014The review says that front cam is not rightly placed so no... moreThink about it. Just try to think of any device with a centered front facing camera... Can you think of any?

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • uNV
                                    • 22 May 2014

                                    Good phone....better luck this time HTC.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • w9x
                                      • 22 May 2014

                                      Glossy Plastic??? I blacklist this fone for me... No thanks.

                                        • b
                                        • badhana
                                        • 7j%
                                        • 22 May 2014

                                        The review says that front cam is not rightly placed so not ideal for video calling..plzz some one tell me will it cause difficulty while video calling????