HTC Desire 650: Plans | Pricing | Specs

HTC Desire 650

• Display

  5 inches

  1280 x 720

  ---

• Storage

  16GB

  ---

• Battery size

  2,200 mAh

  ---

Buy at Amazon

---

The HTC Desire 650 pairs a groovy design with a capable quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM to deliver solid performance at a budget-friendly price.

Clocking in at under $200, the budget-friendly HTC Desire 650 offers an impressive array of features for its price. If you're in the market for a capable smartphone and don't need all the latest bells and whistles, the HTC Desire 650 is well worth considering.

Design

• 50/50 grooved back cover provides enhanced grip and helps distinguish up from down
• Hi-Res audio support is a boon for audiophiles

• Read more on the HTC Desire 650's design

  At first glance, the HTC Desire 650 doesn't seem to stray too far from the design of your typical smartphone. A 5-inch LCD screen stretches from top to bottom, with no physical or capacitive buttons to reduce the screen's real estate. Instead, the standard Android "back", "menu" and "options" buttons are displayed on the touchscreen itself. Resolution clocks in at 1280 x 720, with a pixel density of 294ppi. In a nice touch, the screen itself is built from Gorilla Glass, which offers resistance against scratches and contact damage.

  HTC shakes things up a little around the back of the Desire 650. While the top half of the back cover is smooth, the bottom half is lined with grooves for added grip. This 50/50 design also makes it easy to tell whether your phone is upside-down without looking at it, which is handy.

  On the hardware front, the HTC Desire 650 packs all the standard features expected of a recent smartphone. You've got a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting wired headphones, Bluetooth 4.1 support for syncing wireless devices and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n compatibility for connecting to local wireless networks.

  If you love listening to music on your phone, you'll be glad to know that the Desire 650 is certified for Hi-Res audio, which allows it to deliver higher-quality sound from HD sound files like FLAC. Just bear in mind that FLAC files are a lot larger than MP3s, and the Desire 650 only comes with 16GB of internal storage, of which just 10.3GB is actually available to use. Fortunately, you can expand this by as much as 2TB thanks to support for microSD cards.

  As a phone originally launched at the tail end of 2016 (before hitting Australian shores in April 2017), the HTC Desire 650 comes with Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" pre-installed. This equips the Desire 650 with such useful features as better battery management tools, greater control over app permissions and context-sensitive suggestions for when you can't find the tool or setting you're looking for. Unfortunately, HTC has not released an official update for later Android versions on the Desire 650.

  It's also worth mentioning that HTC has tweaked the stock Android 6.0 interface slightly for the Desire 650. Dubbed HTC Sense, this custom version of Android incorporates additional features like built-in themes, a customisable home screen and an optimisation suite called Boost+ that periodically cleans up unnecessary files in an effort to keep the phone running smoothly.

Camera

• A 13MP sensor and support for panorama shots should appeal to outdoor photographers
• Auto-selfie feature makes snapping quick profile pics a breeze

• Read more on the HTC Desire 650's camera

  For a budget smartphone, the HTC Desire 650 is no slouch in the camera department. On the back you'll find a 13MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, while the front-facing selfie camera packs a 5MP sensor with a smaller aperture of f/2.8. Both cameras include a Backside Illumination (BSI) sensor for better quality photos in low-light situations, and each includes an HDR mode for shots where you want to capture a greater range of lighting.

  The rear camera also includes an auto-focus feature and a nifty panorama mode capable of combining multiple photos into a single 180-degree wide shot. The front camera, meanwhile, boasts a handy auto-selfie setting that lets you trigger shots by smiling or via voice command.

Performance

• Basic day-to-day activities should pose no trouble for the quad-core 1.6GHz processor
• 2GB of RAM should ensure reasonably smooth multitasking

• Read more on the HTC Desire 650's performance

  Under the hood of the HTC Desire 650 lurks a quad-core 1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, a chip designed for mid-range performance when it was first released back in 2013. Needless to say, it's not exactly the most powerful processor available in the modern smartphone market, but it's still capable of solid performance in the basic tasks budget smartphones are typically intended for. The 2GB of RAM included in the Desire 650 supports this, allowing for what should be a relatively smooth experience when multi-tasking between different apps.

  Network performance is similarly respectable on the HTC Desire 650. The handset features a 4G modem capable of CAT 4 speeds, which gives it a maximum download speed of 150Mbps and a maximum upload speed of 50Mbps. For those unfamiliar with network category speeds, they dictate how fast a phone is at processing incoming and outgoing data when connected to a network. You can learn more by reading our guide to mobile phone category speeds.

Battery

• Up to 17.5 hours of talk time according to HTC
• Two power-saving modes for additional battery life when needed

• Read more on the HTC Desire 650's battery

  On paper, the HTC Desire 650's 2,200mAh battery might seem on the low end given many modern smartphones are opting for batteries of 3,000mAh or more. Thanks to the modest power capabilities of the Desire 650's processor, however, its battery drain isn't as severe as the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S handset.

  According to HTC, the Desire 650 can deliver up to 6.67 hours of HD video playback or up to 44.14 hours of audio playback. It performs even better during calls, with HTC claiming up to 17.5 hours of 3G talk time on a single charge. If you find yourself needing even more juice, the phone also features both a standard power-saving mode and an extreme power-saving mode to eke out more battery life by disabling non-critical background services.

Pricing and availability

HTC Desire 650

HTC's grooviest smartphone yet

Get your groove on with the capable yet affordable HTC Desire 650.

Buy Now

• The HTC Desire 650 is available from online retailers like Catch and MobileCiti for around $170.

HTC Desire 650 specs

Compare SIM-only plans for the HTC Desire 650

Latest HTC news

HTC One X10: Plans | Pricing | Specs

If you're looking for a mid-range smartphone that won't call it quits, the supersized battery of the HTC One X10 makes it a top choice. Read more…

HTC U Play review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

If you're considering the HTC U Play, our review breaks down all the important details you should consider. Read more…

HTC U Ultra review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

We've put the HTC U Ultra through its paces, comparing performance, camera, plans and everything else you need to know. Read more…

Image: Shutterstock