HTC on Tuesday unveiled its flagship smartphone and announced that the phone will come in two variants featuring different Qualcomm Snapdragon processors catering to different markets. The HTC 10 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM, while the HTC 10 Lifestyle packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor and 3GB of RAM. However, both HTC 10 and HTC 10 Lifestyle feature the same design, audio, camera, and display, with a similar software experience, and battery life.
HTC’s India website listed the HTC 10 Lifestyle, which indicates the HTC 10 Lifestyle is definitely headed to the country. Many saw this as a sign that the HTC 10 will not be launched in the country. However, anHTC spokesperson told Gadgets 360 that the listing should not be seen as confirmation that the HTC 10 will not launch in India, and an official announcement will be made soon.
If this happens, the Taiwanese company’s strategy will not be new as several companies including Samsung have in the past launched different variants of its flagships targeted at different markets. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S7 in India is powered by an Exynos processor while the handset packs Snapdragon 820 in select markets. LG may follow the suit and launch the new LG G5 SE variant in India, which features the same design as the original LG G5 but with slightly different specifications including the Snapdragon 652 SoC instead of the Snapdragon 820 SoC.
The unlocked HTC 10 edition has been priced at $699 (approximately Rs. 46,500) and is available in the US from the company’s site. It will be available in Glacier Silver and Carbon Grey. The Taiwanese company has said that the handset will start shipping in early May and will come with HTC’s Uh Oh Protection, which will offer users one replacement at no charge within the first 12 months for a cracked screen or water damage.
For specifications, the HTC 10 features a 5.2-inch Quad HD (1440×2560 pixels) Super LCD 5 display with a pixel density of 564ppi. It comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow with HTC Sense running on top and supports Nano-SIM.
The HTC 10 and HTC 10 Lifestyle sport a 12-UltraPixel laser autofocus camera with dual tone LED flash, BSI sensor and optical image stabilisation (OIS). They come with f/1.8 aperture and Sapphire Lens (in some regions including India). There is a 5-megapixel front-facing camera as well featuring autofocus, BSI sensor, optical image stabilisation (OIS), and auto selfie (keep still or smile).
The HTC 10 and HTC 10 Lifestyle feature the BoomSound tech with the company claiming the handset was “engineered for audiophiles.” The BoomSound Hi-Fi Edition comes with Dolby Audio, native support for Apple AirPlay, and three microphones with noise cancellation. It packs a 3000mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0 with cool charge. Connectivity options on the HTC 10 include Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, DLNA, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, and 4G.