HTC's octa-core Desire 616 to cost around $200

Initially spotted in China last week, the Desire 616 is HTC’s first smartphone to come with an octa-core processor. This processor seems to be a MediaTek MT6592 - the same that’s used by Xiaomi in its new Redmi Note (which allegedly hit 100,000 units sold in less than 1 hour).

Chinese websites are reporting that the Desire 616 will not cost more than $210 (1,299 CNY) when it launches in April. While that’s definitely a low price, it’s not lower than the price of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note, which appears to be one of the main competitors of the new Desire. Even so, HTC might sell quite many Desire 616 units in China.

Although it has eight cores, the MediaTek MT6592 is still a cheap processor that’s no match for high-end CPUs from Qualcomm, Nvidia, or Samsung. Still, the HTC Desire 616 is a decent handset for its price. It sports a 5-inch 720p display, while also featuring BoomSound speakers, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable internal memory, and an 8MP rear camera with LED flash.

The Desire 616 currently runs Android Jelly Bean. You can see the smartphone’s red version in a set of live photos below. HTC will reportedly also launch white, black, blue and yellow variants of the new handset.


sources: CNMO (translated), Sina (translated)