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Carriers are notoriously slow to update their devices to newer versions of Android, and while this is not only annoying for users who want to try out new features, it also has implications for the security of devices. Until now, the Verizon HTC Desire 530 had been running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (released by Google in December 2015) with anything but up-to-date security patches. A new update has just been announced, and it does improve the situation, if only a little bit.
Evan Blass (@evleaks), who was supposed to have retired a little over two years ago, is still one of the best in the leaking game. His latest reveals, the HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle and Desire 10 Pro, are a bit strange in that while the Pro model is pictured, it's the Lifestyle model that is detailed thoroughly. Blass says that his source is someone who was briefed on HTC's plans, so the information should be fairly reliable.
HTC is taking a different approach to this year's mid-range Desire phones. They're decidedly less modest.
Unlike Samsung and LG, HTC doesn't seem to be ready to reveal its next flagship, the One (M10), at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. But the company's portfolio doesn't stop at the One lineup. There's the Desire range as well, and one of its impending models is codenamed A16 and pictured in the leaked photo above, courtesy of Evan Blass (@evleaks). There are six color variants including plain black and white, and starry / sparkly black, white, red, and navy. Or at least that's the way my eyes see it.
HTC's Desire brand has hung on through two revisions of the "company-wide" One moniker, oddly adopting features and style queues from the flagship series while aiming for a lower price point. So it is with the latest Desire phones to come to Verizon, the 526 and 626. Verizon announced the pair earlier today, with the cheaper Desire 526 going on sale tomorrow (August 13th) and the Desire 626 available "in the coming weeks."
Today at its big Double Exposure New York event, HTC officially unveiled the leaked Desire EYE. What sets this phone apart from others isn't impressive specs or phenomenal build quality. Oh no, it's the giant 13MP front-facing camera. With a matching camera on the back, this phone wants your selfies to look just as impressive as the photos you take of other people. There's even dual LED flash on both sides as well.
The HTC Desire 610 marked a revival for the "Desire" brand in the US when it came to AT&T in late July. Now a variant, the Desire 612, is finding its way to Verizon Wireless, as the carrier will start selling the handset in just two days. Think of it as largely the same as the version on AT&T, just with more branding and extra red.
HTC is set to unveil some new hardware at a New York City event on Wednesday. The company itself has already given us some clues to a GoPro-style sports camera (including a couple of unintended product images), and a few less reliable sources claim there will be a phone with a 13-megapixel Duo camera. This weekend the Twitter leak account @Upleaks showed some images of an alleged "HTC Desire Eye," a phone that embraces the selfie craze (ugh) in a big way.
If HTC's various members of the One family seem a little cold and lifeless to you, you'll appreciate the new Desire 820. This decidedly mid-range device uses a variety of color schemes on its polycarbonate shell, adding a bit of style to the company's standard unibody dual-speaker layout. The result is a look that blends the HTC One M8 and, oddly, the iPhone 5c. Check out those two-tone accents on some models.
HTC's Desire family is the brand that just won't stop, having survived not one but two company-wide product refreshes. And strangely, it looks like it will also host the first HTC device to come with a 64-bit processor. The Desire 510 is a low-end phone aimed at bargain hunters and pay-as-you-go wireless users, but its inclusion of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 system on a chip makes its otherwise lackluster specifications notable.
The HTC Desire 610 is now available from AT&T, marking the first time in years that the Desire brand has appeared on carrier store shelves in the US. The phone is very affordable, going for just $199.99 without an annual contract. With one, it's only 99 cents.
American readers might not know this, but HTC just loves the Desire brand name. It's been around since 2010, when the original launched as a slightly modified version of the Nexus One. Since then it's gone through many permutations, like the keyboard-equipped Desire Z (the G2 in the US) and got at One X-style makeover with the Desire X. The 601 brought the family up to the HTC One M7's industrial design, meaning the name has survived two of HTC's complete hardware overhauls. Now for the first time in years, we're getting a Desire in the US, courtesy of AT&T.
The week is just getting started, but HTC is dropping new devices like it's going out of style. No, it's not that rumored One Max we've been hearing about. The company is breathing new life into the Desire brand with the mid-range Desire 601 and the entry-level Desire 300. HTC is also announcing a Bluetooth subwoofer accessory for BoomSound devices and a new "Vivid Blue" HTC One.
HTC Announces Mid-Range Desire 500 For The UK: 4.3", 1.2Ghz Quad-Core, Removable Battery, And MicroSD
HTC Announces Mid-Range Desire 500 For UK Customers
HTC hasn't abandoned the market for small phones, as shown by their One Mini at a (relatively) tiny 4.3 inches. But that's still on the premium side, and those who want both a small size and a small price need some love too. Enter the Desire 500, a 4.3" phone with a mixture of features from this generation of HTC hardware and the last one. It's currently slated for release in the UK sometime in August, but HTC has been mum on a price and wider release details so far.
HTC, keeping up with its recent pattern of speedy source release, has dropped official ICS kernel source code for a heaping handful of devices, perhaps most notably the One V, a member of HTC's new One line which hasn't yet debuted in many countries.
Koushik Dutta, the mastermind behind ClockworkMod recoveries and other goodies, has been hard at work today after releasing the initial beta versions of the new Touch iteration of CWM for the Nexuses. "What was he doing?" you may ask. Adding support for more devices, one by one. They are, as of this moment:
Those following HTC's efforts to liberate bootloaders everywhere have a bit more to talk about tonight, as the Taiwanese manufacturer added support for a handful of devices.
The official Gingerbread build for the HTC Desire was released a few days ago, but it was pushed out as an RUU, not in typical OTA (over-the-air) fashion like we've all become accustomed to. I think there has been some confusion about HTC's plans for the Desire, as we've received several emails asking when an OTA may become available.
Skysoft... errr, I mean Skype updated its previously measly Android device support from 5 devices to more than 20 today with the introduction of version 2.1 of its Android app. There are no new features outside of expanded device support, which was badly needed in order for the app to climb out of the sea of 1-star reviews (although stability and quality improvements would have made today's release even sweeter).
Ah, the moment that Desire owners have been waiting for... or is it? HTC released its official Gingerbread build for the Desire this morning, but it's not in the form of an OTA (over-the-air); instead, it's a full RUU (ROM upgrade utility). This means that not only is the installation process a bit more complex than an OTA, it will also wipe the device during the upgrade process, forcing you to start from scratch upon first boot.