A bird-eye’s view of the most expensive and powerful smartphone in HTC’s Desire range, the Desire Eye.

1. HTC
Desire Eye
Review in pictures
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2. 2
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder
Despite its plastic construction, the unibody smartphone manages to stand out with its
dual-tone finish
Our review unit is dipped in white, but has a bright red strip running along its edges.
It’s also available in a black and blue combination
Sporting a 5.2-inch display, the Desire Eye falls in the phablet category
Can be held in a single hand easily, though it’s length is more than the competition
DESIGN

3. 3
Your rough-and-tough partner
It’s one of the very few flagships with IPx7 certification
This means that the device is resilient to dust and water, and can survive a depth of up to
1m for up to 30 minutes
Along with the display dominating the fascia, the front camera with dual-LED flash also
grabs attention
The right edge is home to the volume rocker and the power button with a dedicated camera
key further below, which is a welcome addition
On the left, it has slots for a nano-SIM and a microSD card
DESIGN

4. A display that’s quite an eyeful
Unlike other devices in the HTC Desire lineup, the Desire Eye sports full HD
resolution
That, combined with phone’s 5.2-inch display, results in rich pixel density of
424ppi
The display produces excellent colours and sharp text
It has appropriate brightness levels, and though it becomes slightly reflective,
we were able to view it outdoors as well.
The display is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3
DISPLAY

5. More than meets the eye
In the software department,
HTC has used its custom skin
dubbed Sense 6 with
Android 4.4 KitKat as its
base
The UI brings a nice user
interface along with a number
of features
Some of the key features of
Sense 6 include BlinkFeed,
Zoe, Video highlights, etc.
Motion launch gestures come
in handy to unlock the device
or to jump directly to the
BlinkFeed screen by simple
swipes, even when the phone
is locked
USERINTERFACE

6. No distinction between the front and rear
snappers…
The HTC Desire Eye is
supplied with 13-megapixel
snappers at the rear as well
as front, which are both
complemented by dual-tone
LED flash
The custom camera app offers
various modes and features to
enhance photographs
Apart from that, the app has
interesting modes like Split
capture and Photo booth
Both the shooters can record
videos in 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
at 30fps
CAMERA

7. … and both have an eye for detail
With their 13-megapixel BSI
sensors, both the primary and
secondary cameras capture ample
amount of detail and reproduce
accurate colours
However, the rear camera’s
metering mechanism is biased
towards the center, resulting in
blurriness towards the sides
Front snapper is good, but not
perfect. Although, it offers
numerous software enhancements
The dual-tone LED flash,
supplementing both shooters,
comes in really handy in low-light
environments
Close up
Long shot
CAMERA
Front shot

8. Crunches numbers in the blink of an eye
The smartphone sits at the top of the Desire range, and that reflects in the
hardware department as well
It comes powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, offering four
cores ticking at 2.3GHz, paired with 2GB of RAM
The combination allows the phone to perform smoothly, be it while doing basic
tasks or playing graphics-heavy games such as Riptide GP2
Sadly, it starts heating up within 10 to 15 minutes of gameplay
PERFORMANCE

9. Fulfills your storage needs
Equipped with 16GB of
onboard storage
Users can access almost 9GB
for installation of apps and
storing personal files
If that doesn’t satisfy your
requirements, then you can
make use of the expansion
slot to insert a microSD card
of up to 128GB
The device also supports USB
OTG, allowing you to plug in
flash drives directly
PERFORMANCE

10. The battery chart is an eyesore
Draws power from a
2,400mAh non-removable
battery
Sadly, it’s unable to last the
entire day
It played back an HD video
for slightly less than 11 hours
continuously
However, you can enable the
Power Saver mode to
conserve the battery
There’s also Extreme power
saving mode, allowing you to
extend the battery life by
shutting down everything
except basic functionality
PERFORMANCE

11. At a glance…
Measures 151.7 x 73.8 x 8.5mm
Weighs 154g
5.2-inch display, full HD resolution
2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm
Snapdragon 801 processor
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage, expandable
up to 128GB
13-megapixel cameras at the front
and back with dual-tone LED flash
Support for 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,
NFC and GPS
2,400mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat with Sense UI

12. Pros and cons
Distinctive design
Dust and water resistant
Lovely display
Powerful pair of snappers – both
at the front and rear
Power-packed internals
Image quality of captured
images isn’t the best
Average battery
Doesn’t come cheap

13. Pricing & verdict
Price:
Rs 37,999
“With a powerful snapper at the front, the Desire
Eye might seem like it’s aimed at mainly selfie
enthusiasts. However, the Taiwanese giant has
made sure that the device doesn’t lack in any other
aspect and one look at its spec sheet proves that.
Sadly, all this comes at a premium. But if you’re
brand conscious, like to capture selfies, want a
rugged phone and don’t want the hassle of invite-
only or flash-sales models, then this is a right
choice for you.”