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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.