HTC 10

HTC 10, first available in May 2016, is one of the HTC smartphones to have received largely positive reviews from critics. Back in the day when came out, it was touted as HTC’s big gamble and an attempt at reformation since the Taiwanese company’s smartphones had become increasingly unpopular with the masses.

HTC had failed terribly in 2015 with the One M9 smartphone which had little design innovation, an unremarkable battery life, and a camera that you wouldn’t want to click a picture with.

In the end, HTC 10 delivered. But, it still failed to generate those seismic waves that the company intended it to. Below is a full-fledged lowdown.

Let’s begin with what you see first: the design. With its fully metallic body, the phone feels wonderful in your hand, though a bit weighty as well. The chambered edges aren’t very comfortable either but they catch the light really well.

There is a fingerprint scanner that, back in day, would be slower than Galaxy S7 – but the delay is hardly noticeable and one can do with it.

The volume and the power button are aptly placed and you can use them without looking at the phone.

First off, the Super LCD 5 means looking at the screen isnt an eyesore experience. If you want to get a bit picky, you would note that the screen is a bit darker when viewed from an off-angle. But since close-to-nil time is going to be spent looking at phone that way, this isn’t much of a problem.

The contrast ratios are good, the colors don’t scream at you and make you want to look away.

Even with the 2560×1440 resolution, though, the sharpness can seem to be a bit muted for those who are used to sharper images or who are used to the AMOLED technology. Speaking of which, there is a no AMOLED screen and this might pose problems in the sunlight. The auto brightness feature isn’t too great, either.

Overall, though, the screen looks so much neater and sharper than before; now it has the right balance of colors.

The phone uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 paired with Adreno 530 GPU. It is a powerful processor and can easily help your multitasking sessions go smoothly. On the whole, the interface is very sleek and modern. The stand out feature is the Freestyle layout. This allows you to position your icons as stickers, wherever you want to, on the screen. If your memory is good, you can even remove the names and remember pictorially which app is which.

This phone has the best HTC camera till date for sure. However (when will we not have to however, HTC?), despite the 1/25 sec shutter speed – which makes it fast and reliable – the images can look a little dark inside even with the lights turned on. It captures all details excellently, though. Outside, the camera performs brilliantly well and delivers as it promises.

As to the longevity of the battery, that really depends on what you use it for and the brightness level at that point. If you put it on the desk and then forget it, the battery stays put. However, if you decide to treat yourself to a lengthy phone browsing experience post-hiatus, the power begins to drop very quickly.

However, fret not – for the HTC 10 has you covered here. The USB-C port and Quick Charge 3.0 technology means that the phone can reach 50% in just half an hour. So, as long as you have your Quick Charger with you, you should be fine. If you forget dear QC at home, HTC has you covered again. The USB-C to USB-A cable in the box means you can use it with other USB plugs.

To reiterate what we said in the beginning: there is no doubt that the HTC 10 is good. But, it’s not impressive. Nothing that would make you stand out in your circle of friends and brag.

If you just want any phone, spending 570.49 USD on it doesn’t make sense. And if money really isn’t an issue, you could add a little bit more cash and buy an iPhone or a high-end Samsung Android.

In the end, HTC 10 helped the company stand back on its feet. But, it is only one small step in the direction of HTC’s dream of dominance in the smartphone market.