HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle Review

Introduction

The HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle is a mid-range Android smartphone that's not for everyone. While it does have its pros, there are more than enough cons to weigh it down.

The handset isn't available in the US, but European customers can get it for around $300, which makes it a bit more expensive than most of its competitors. We'll let you decide for yourself if the price is worth it. So, let's get straight into it, shall we?

In the box:

• HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle
• USB to Micro-USB cable
• Wall charger
• Hi-res audio headphones
• Wrist strap
• Various booklets

Design

The HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle comes in four color variants – Polar White, Stone Black, Royal Blue and Valentine Lux (a gentle light blue). We have the Stone Black up for review, and we have to admit it looks pretty good.

The device features some gold-coloured accents on top of its all-plastic design, which really make it stand out. We would prefer metal or glass, but the price sort of justifies the materials.

And despite the all-plastic design and bigger form factor, the phone feels pretty good in the hand. It doesn't slip and slide anywhere, and it feels sort of natural to hold. The physical power button on the side has a nice clicky feel to it that provides more than enough tactile feedback without being too flimsy.

The top and bottom bezels around the 5.5” screen could use a bit of trimming, but they're not that big either. Especially considering that the bottom one houses three capacitive touch buttons.

The volume rockers on the right side of the handset feel a little awkward to use. They're way too flat and, unlike the power button directly below them, don't provide much feedback when pressed. But with enough time to get used to them, they could be deemed as passable.

The left side of the device houses the two Nano SIM slots and a microSD slot for storage expansion. According to the official specifications, it should be able to handle a microSD card with up to 2 TB of capacity.

The bottom side of the phone holds the wrist strap hook, micro USB port and the handset's speakers, while the top only has a 3.5 mm port.

Display

The Desire 10 Lifestyle features a 5.5” LCD screen, with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. This makes for a pixel density of 267 ppi, which is good enough for browsing the web or reading e-books.

When it comes to colors, you have a choice. The HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle offers a color temperature slider in its settings, which lets you customize how cool or warm you want your colors to be. By default the display is somewhat cool, however.

Viewing angles probably present the biggest compromise in the display department, as visuals get rather washed out when viewed at medium to wide angles.