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HTC launches Desire 12 and Desire 12 Plus, delivering big screens on a budget
- HTC has lifted the lid on the Desire 12 and Desire 12 Plus.
- The devices sport 18:9, HD+ displays and run Android Oreo out of the box.
- HTC says the phones will “deliver the goods without breaking the bank.”
Following our exclusive HTCDesire 12 leak from a few weeks ago, the device (seen above) has finally been announced alongside the Desire 12 Plus. The handsets, which HTCrevealed earlier today, pay homage to the Liquid Surface design approach of the U11 series but are set to come with lower price tags than HTC’s recent flagships.
Beginning with the Desire 12, this features a 5.5-inch, 18:9 screen with a 1,440 x 720 (HD+) resolution and a quad-core MediaTek MT6739 chipset. The memory comes in at 2 GB RAM / 16 GB storage or 3 GB RAM / 32 GB storage depending on the region, and this can be expanded via MicroSD card up to 2 TB.
There’s a 13 MP camera on the back with phase-detection autofocus (PDAF), and a 5 MP selfie camera, while the battery capacity comes in at 2,730 mAh. It’s also running Android Oreo out of the box, but unlike the Desire 12 Plus, the Desire 12 does not come with a fingerprint scanner.
Speaking of which, the HTCDesire 12 Plus (below) features a larger 6-inch display, with 18:9 aspect ratio and 1,440 x 720 resolution, as well as an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset. It’s available in a 3 GB RAM / 32 GB internal storage version only, with 2 TB MicroSD support.
This handset comes with a dual-camera setup on the back (13 MP + 2 MP) with PDAF, and an 8 MP snapper at the front. It’s powered by a 2,965 mAh battery and runs Android Oreo like the standard Desire 12.
HTC said that pricing and availability details for the handsets would be “confirmed in due course,” but, according to GSMArena, the price will be somewhere between “€235 and €249” for the Desire 12 Plus and “€185 and €199,” for the Desire 12, depending on the market. They’re tipped to launch toward the end of April.
Whether these two phones can help turn HTC’s fortunes around is another matter. The company has $1.1 billion in the bank from its deal with Google, though it reported poor financial results for January. The price could be right on these new mid-rangers, and they’re easy on the eye, but with the more “premium” variant housing a chipset announced last summer and a large, comparatively low-res display, it still might struggle to sell.
What are your thoughts on the new phones from HTC? Let us know in the comments.