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HTC Desire 626 Review

Name: HTC Desire 626 Review
Item: HTC Desire 626
Rating: 7
Author: John V.

posted by John V. / Sep 09, 2015, 6:42 AM

Introduction

One of the biggest surprises in the area of the mobile scene this year is the war that’s been waging in the entry-level segment – you know, phones that are priced below $200. Taking into account that carriers have totally ditched the subsidy model that we’ve all been accustomed to following, it’s going to be even more crucial for phones to really show that they have a ton of value for the money. Even though it’s been a tough year for HTC, the Taiwan-based company is always continuing to diversify its robust portfolio. This time, here comes the HTC Desire 626. Knowing what’s out there already, can this sub-$200 offering stand out in a sea already filled with some killer options?

The package contains:

HTC Desire 626
microUSB cable
Wall charger
Stereo headphones
Get start guide
Important information

Design

It’s the same old, very predictable design. Still, it’s pretty charming.

By now, HTC’s Desire line has followed a particular and predictable design language that hasn’t seen any dramatic changes in the last couple of years. So, to no one’s surprise, the HTC Desire 626 follows in familiar fashion with its two-toned, all-plastic construction. Our particular unit, the marine white variant, combines a white body with a blue colored accent, but it comes in other color combinations that we find charming. It’s certainly not an original design, that’s for sure, as it boasts many of the traits we’ve come to expect from the Desire line.

In standard Desire fashion, its buttons and ports are found in their usual locations – so that means the power and volume controls on its right edge, 3.5mm headphone jack on top, SIM and microSD card slots on its left, and microUSB port on the bottom. Initially, it seems like it stays faithful to HTC’s practice of offering dual front-firing speakers, but it’s only the bottom grill that’s used for audio output, as the top one is reserved for the earpiece only.

View more + 18 images

Front view
Side view

To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page

Display

The subdued tone of the display makes it tough for it to stand out.

Accompanied with a 5-inch 720 x 1280 Super LCD screen, it certainly fits the bill for a phone in its price category. Neither exceptionally detailed with its 294 ppi pixel density, nor polarizing with its qualities, the display at the very least is effective for everyday use. Surprisingly enough, the panel favors a warmer tone with its ~6300K color temperature, which is close to the ideal reference value if 6500K. Topping it off too, is the fact that it’s able to accurately reproduce most of the color gradients in the sRGB color spectrum chart – save for the colors of green, which have a sprinkling of yellow to them. There are undoubtedly some good qualities about the screen, but there’s just this subdued tone that prevents it from being livelier to the eye.

Display measurements and quality

	Maximum brightness Higher is better	Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better	Contrast Higher is better	Color temperature (Kelvins)	Gamma	Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better	Delta E grayscale Lower is better
HTC Desire 626	476 (Good)	15 (Poor)	1:1414 (Excellent)	6290 (Excellent)	2.46	3.06 (Good)	3.34 (Good)
Motorola Moto G (2015)	449 (Good)	19 (Poor)	1:1116 (Good)	7440 (Good)	2.27	5.87 (Average)	4.04 (Average)
Microsoft Lumia 640	352 (Average)	1 (Excellent)	1:869 (Average)	6939 (Excellent)	2.25	3.96 (Good)	2.02 (Good)
Asus ZenFone 2	442 (Good)	28 (Poor)	1:1336 (Excellent)	7622 (Average)	2.8	6.44 (Average)	6.16 (Average)

View all

The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.

	Maximum brightness Lower is better	Minimum brightness Lower is better	Contrast Lower is better	Color temperature Lower is better	Gamma Lower is better	Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better	Delta E grayscale Lower is better
Asus ZenFone 2	73.5%	71.4%	72%	19%	10%	3.4%	16.4%
HTC Desire 626	82.8%	86.7%	88.1%	64.2%	19.5%	7.8%	157.8%
Motorola Moto G (2015)	86.6%	84.2%	83.1%	7.6%	1.3%	32.7%	14.4%
Microsoft Lumia 640	88.4%	No data	83.4%	10.8%	1.8%	No data	100%

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The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

These measurements are made using SpectraCal's CalMAN calibration software.

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Options

8 Comments

1. danielxxi

Posts: 183; Member since: Feb 13, 2013

I don't know what's wrong with PA, the display post good to excellent result with almost spot on colour accuracy but they criticised it because "subdued" tone. And if the display oversaturated or "lively" like they said, they still criticised the display not accurate as the iPhone or Galaxy

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 7:17 AM 4

2. Super.Vegito

Posts: 43; Member since: Aug 04, 2015

I think the 7/10 the right score for this. They should have gone with at least a sd410, 2xx series is a joke these days. Or otherwise price it at about $100 t o120 max.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 7:19 AM 0

5. Classique

Posts: 73; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

Agreed, when you can get a Moto G for the same price which is better in probably every single way except for screen quality it's difficult to recommend this

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 9:49 AM 0

3. SonyOwner unregistered

Because HTC doesn't pay Phonearena so this device deserve a score of 7. Just like the Xperia Z3+ lol. I can't really trust Phonearena when it comes to smartphone review because they don't know how to review at all.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 7:55 AM 0

4. hafini_27

Posts: 942; Member since: Oct 31, 2013

As much as I love Sony, it is undeniable that the Z3+ was a huge failure. The overheating problem of the 810 persists for way too long.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 9:23 AM 1

6. CyberFalcon

Posts: 223; Member since: Apr 17, 2014

Moto G3 scored 9/10 does that mean Moto paid PA? Kindly think before you post a statement like this dude.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 10:43 AM 1

7. DeusExCellula

Posts: 1389; Member since: Oct 05, 2014

HTC never puts enough RAM in their phones wtf. 2 GB ram SD 610-801 atleast and 16GB ROM i would have been sold

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 1:04 PM 0

8. diyi75

Posts: 72; Member since: Oct 30, 2013

This unit pales in comparison to the ZTE Zmax 2 in at&t's prepaid line up. You are paying twice as much for a smaller chinese phone. I am surprised ZTE or Huawei hasn't bought them out yet.