HTC Desire Eye deals and reviews

HTC are marketing the Desire Eye as a 'selfie phone'. With two identical 13 megapixel cameras and flashes on the front and back for the phone, it's easy to see why, although it doesn't do justice to the rest of the phones features. The phone's perfomance is fast, and more or less matches flagship phones like the HTC One (M8). However, unlike the One, the Desire Eye is also water resistant. Reviewers found much more to like about it - the design, whilst not quite matching the quality of it's flagship sibling (the One is metallic, and the Desire Eye is plastic) has received praise for the most part. The speakers sound amazing, and the screen looks great. In fact, the biggest criticsm of the Desire Eye has been about the cameras - they tend to underperform in certain situations such as low lighting, which is a real shame as this what HTC have decided to sell the phone on. If you're willing to overlook this, the Desire Eye represents very good value for money- high end specs at a mid-range price.

What the critics say (scores are out of 100)

100	Expert Reviews | Katharine Byrne A fun and fast smartphone that rivals the very best flagships, but the Desire Eye's dual 13-megapixel cameras aren't without their problems. Read full review
90	Register Hardware | Alun Taylor Highly competent. That is simply what the Desire Eye is. Photographically well endowed at both front and back, waterproof, reasonably affordable, well made, robust and blessed with a very nice display. It's a hard device not to like unless you absolutely must have a removable battery. Read full review
90	Trusted Reviews | Evan Kypreos The HTC Desire EYE is a selfie-lover's dream, but it's the rest of the phone that surprised us. The performance is at flagship level, it's water resistant and the design is, in the large part, solid. There isn't another phone that directly compares. The cameras may be what everyone is talking about, but the HTC Desire is a phone that can hold its head high in any company. Read full review
90	Pocket-lint | Chris Hall The HTC Desire Eye is a great smartphone.If you're looking for flagship performance at a more affordable price then the Desire Eye might well be it. It's something of an oddity and that front camera might be an eyesore, but it's a desirable handset nonetheless - and one not just for the selfie obsessives as its name might suggest. Read full review
90	PC Advisor | Marie Brewis We are thoroughly impressed with the HTC Desire Eye: it's fast, it's great value, it has a nice screen and it sounds great. Better still, it makes you look pretty. Read full review
90	Digital Spy | Ian Morris The HTC Desire EYE says it's one thing - a selfie phone. In fact, there's so much more to it, and what HTC has done is produced a phone which has far wider appeal than an initial glance would let you believe. Read full review
85	SlashGear | Chris Burns If you're looking for a device that takes amazing photos from either side - front or back - this is that device. If you want one of the most unique smartphones on the market today - you've got it here in the EYE. Read full review
84	pocketnow | Joe Levi The review device was good enough, fast enough, and all around comfortable enough to replace our daily driver. If you're thinking about buying the Desire Eye for its cameras, don't let them be your deciding factor: although they're 13MP they still have their downsides. On the other hand, the Eye's screen is beautiful and sharp, its speakers sound amazing, its battery is big enough to last all day, and it's stylish enough to turn heads – which it did on several occasions. Read full review
83	MobileTechTalk | Craig Bradshaw This device is best viewed, as many are, from a significant distance away from the marketing machine surrounding it. As a stand alone device, the HTC Desire Eye is still a very compelling proposition. Read full review
82	Android Authority | Joshua Vergara The HTC Desire Eye is a great, solid smartphone, that unfortunately doesn't succeed as well in what it was originally intended to do. Read full review
80	Phone Scoop | Eric M. Zeman Would I recommend the HTC Desire Eye? Well, if you are your own favorite photographic subject, there's no better choice. The user-facing camera is the best I've seen and that's the whole point of the Eye. Even if you're not the most important person in your world, the Desire Eye is a powerful and fun handset. Read full review
80	Digital Trends | Matt Safford The Desire Eye is a fine mid-range phone with plenty to like, including nearly top-notch specs, an attractive, though slippery, water-resistant shell, and cameras that, while they aren't the best you'll find in a smartphone (the iPhone 6 and the Note 4 take better low-light photos), are still great for a phone that costs less. Read full review
80	Tom's Guide | Cherlynn Low Packing a 13-megapixel camera on its front and back, the HTC Desire Eye smartphone takes selfie shooting to new levels. Read full review
80	Recombu | Chris Barraclough I really, really like the HTC Desire Eye, and I'm not even a fan of selfies, unless I'm a bit tipsy. Selfie fans will enjoy the sharp flash-enhanced front camera. Read full review
80	Brighthand | Dragan Petric The Desire Eye's dual 13-megapixel cameras are its biggest hooks. The selfie cam in particular is probably the reason this phone even exists – there simply isn't another front-facing camera that's this beefed up. Read full review
80	Wired UK | Dave Oliver This is a perfectly fine phone with a solidly dependable spec but it's the 13 megapixel selfie camera with all its attendant extras that makes it special. Read full review
80	V3 | Alastair Stevenson Considering the lack of decent options available at the same price in the Android ecosystem at the moment, the Desire Eye is a solid option for any buyer looking for a decent mid-tier handset. Read full review
80	NDTV Gadgets | Ershad Kaleebullah If you are looking at a phone solely for great camera performance you'd be better off with the HTC One (M8 Eye). Otherwise, we really think that the Desire Eye is one of the most well-rounded smartphones we've used in the recent past. Read full review
80	phoneArena | Peter K. As a whole, we were pleasantly-surprised by the Desire EYE in certain aspects and disappointed in others. HTC could have done better, but this doesn't mean that the Desire EYE is a failure. On the contrary,you should definitely keep an EYE on it. Read full review
80	Mobile Choice | Sunetra Chakravarti The size guarantees it a place in the pit with other phablets, but we would definitely not call it a budget option, specifically because HTC didn't scrimp on the features or looks when they came up with it. The robust battery life and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor make it an absolutely cracking deal. Read full review
80	CNET UK | Andrew Hoyle If capturing your face for Instagram in even the gloomiest of nightspots is your chief concern for a phone, the Eye is certainly worth checking out. Even those with just a passing interest in narcissistic photography still have plenty to keep them happy however, with the good quality full HD display, the colourful, waterproof design and the powerful processor. Read full review
75	What Mobile | Callum Tennent All that said, the Desire Eye is still a mid-range phone, and slightly overpriced. The Desire Eye's build quality and price make it a tougher sell. Read full review
74	Engadget | Chris Velazco ... the very concept of the Desire Eye could've absolutely shined if HTC fitted the thing with some more robust, capable shooters. As it stands, though, it's a mostly great phone that stands up well to the rest of the pack, even if it doesn't live up to its potential. Read full review
70	Mashable | Raymond Wong The HTC Desire Eye is made for a very specific type of person: the selfie addict. If all you do is take selfies with your phone and care about the extra resolution or the face-augmenting effects, this phone will bring you fun times. Read full review
70	The Inquirer | Alastair Stevenson Considering the lack of decent options available at the same price in the Android ecosystem at the moment, the Desire Eye is a solid option for any buyer looking for a decent mid-tier handset. Read full review
70	LAPTOP | Valentina Palladino Packing a punch with 13-MP front and rear cameras, the HTC Desire Eye is a selfie-friendly smartphone that performs well across the board. Read full review

Compare HTC Desire Eye specs side-by-side with other phones COMPARE SPECS

Dimensions & Form	Form factor: Touchscreen bar Dimensions 151.7 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm (5.97 x 2.91 x 0.33 in) Weight: 154 g (5.43 oz)
Screen	Size: 5.2 inches diagonal Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels Screen Density: 424 ppi Screen-to-Body Ratio: 66.6 % Display Type: Capacitive touchscreen
Runs
Performance	Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU: Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 GPU: Adreno 330 RAM: 2GB
Camera	Main Camera: 13 megapixels with dual LED flash Secondary Camera: 13 megapixels with dual LED flash
Storage	Built-in Storage: 16GB Expandable Storage: Micro SD
Battery & Charging	Capacity: 2400 mAh Removable Battery: No Wireless Charging: No Quick Charge: Yes (v2)
SIM standard	Nano SIM Compare SIM Only deals
Water & Dust Resistance	Not Available
Fingerprint Reader	None
References & More info	Official website GSMArena specs page

Photos taken with the HTC Desire Eye

We've used Flickr to find a selection of pictures taken by the HTC Desire Eye camera. Here is a selection of photos taken by users from around the world so you can see what kind of picture quality you can expect from real-world use of the HTC Desire Eye.

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All images shown are used under the rights and terms specified by the Creative Commons.