HTC Desire 816 specifications stack up as king of mid-tier

This week the folks at HTC have revealed a couple of new devices that will lead up to their next top-notch hero phone: one is the HTC Desire 816. This device works with a 5.5-inch display with 720p resolution with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor under the hood – that's quad-core clocked at 1.6GHz. This device is made to "reignite the mid-market", so says HTC, as it aims for China first and foremost.

This device works with HTC BoomSound front-facing speakers. It works with a main camera at 13-megapixels with an f/2.2, BSI Sensor and the ability to record 720p HD video. The front-facing camera on this device works with 5-megapixels of power with a BSI sensor and f/2.8 wide angle lens, along with 720p HD video recording.

Under the hood you've got "optional" NFC, DLNA connectivity, and HTC connect, along with Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX and Wi-fi. Wi-fi is IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz), while you've got a standard micro-USB port along the bottom of this device.

This device will be delivered with HTC BlinkFeed just like the HTC One, and you'll have Android with HTC Sense right out of the box. Inside you've got 8GB of storage space as well as a microSD card slot for 64GB of additional storage. This device also runs with 1.5GB of RAM.

The HTC Desire 816 works with an accelerometer, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor. You'll also find GPS + GLONASS, and a digital compass. Inside is also a 2600mAh non-removable battery.

"The HTC Desire 816 marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the mid-tier. Incomparably beautiful to look at and hold with the technology and software to match, the HTC Desire 816 challenges everything that people expect from lower cost smartphones.

It is bringing genuine choice to the category by delivering stunning design and high-end performance at unbelievable value." – Peter Chou, CEO of HTC

The HTC Desire 816 will be launched in China starting in March with Android Jelly Bean and Sense 5.5. This device will be made available globally starting in April, where HTC will also bring on "the latest version of HTC Sense via an OTA update" – we must assume that this means Android 4.4 KitKat as well, but we shall see!