HTC Desire 626 unveiled, we go hands-on with the plastic flagship

The Desire 626 and 626s obviously can’t compete with HTC’s own One M9 or other flagship phones but, for what it is, this is an impressive device. These affordable phones come from HTC’s Desire series, which targets the middle to lower markets, unlike the company’s pricey One phones. All four phones will be LTE-capable, contain Quad-core Snapdragon processors, and have a variety of displays.

The Desire 526 comes with 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a microSD card slot and a 4.7 inch display with a qHD resolution, there is also an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. We think with the Desire 626 and 626s, HTC pulled an Apple. The HTC Desire 626 has a 5MP front-facing camera while the HTC Desire 626s, HTC Desire 526 and HTC Desire 520 come with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

HTC plans to offer these phones via carriers including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile United States of America, Boost Mobile, Cricket, MetroPCS, and Tracfone. We expect to hear more about the exact versions that will be available soon, and prices should also be unveiled in the near future, but one thing is certain – these new phones will be affordable. The Taiwanese company added a slew of new budget phones to the mix, all of which have premium unibody polycarbonate designs like the high-end Desire Eye.

The Desire 526 is a Verizon exclusive, and it sounded like some of its specs may have been helpful Verizon requests-for instance, giving it 1.5GB of RAM to make Android version upgrades easier. Just like the Desire 626 and 626s we also have a 2000mAh battery and Android 5.1 Lollipop on-board. The new Desire phones will slow the blood from gushing out of HTC’s tanking value and marketshare until its next flagship launches next year, but will it be too little too late? The color options for both the variants are the same and include: Blue Lagoon, White Birch, Marine White, Marshmallow White, and Gray Lava (yes, HTC had a field day deciding on the names). Availability and pricing is a bit cloudy as HTC hasn’t announced yet. The main camera is a 8MP recording at 720p, and the front camera is 2MP also capturing 720p film.

This sits perfectly in mid place with a 4.7-inch screen, a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, slightly thicker build but the rest is the same as the other Desire lineup mentioned above. A 2000 mAh battery and expandable memory further enhance the power of the new HTC Desire line. The HTC Desire line comes with an 8MP primary camera and video captured by HD 720p video recording capabilities.

Cricket will sell the Desire 520 in a Steel Gray color option, but no price has been announced yet.