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
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
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
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
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.
If you’re considering HTC's latest premium smartphone, the HTC U12+, our complete review includes plans, performance and all you must know before you buy.
Matt Sayer is a technology writer and editorial engineer for Finder, combining industry expertise with data-driven solutions to help people make better decisions. His extensive portfolio spans investigate reporting on the roll-out of 5G, statistical analysis on the legacy of E3 and guides for popular products like mobile phones and smart speakers. Matt has a Bachelor of Computer Science from RMIT University and is passionate about finding ways that technology can better our lives.
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