HTC still makes phones, really.
What you need to know
- HTC this week released the Desire 21 Pro 5G.
- It’s a sleekly designed phone that features the company’s first 90Hz display.
- HTC is selling this phone in Taiwan for the equivalent of $430.
HTC this week quietly released a new cheap Android phone, the HTC Desire 21 Pro 5G (via Engagdet). It’s a sleek-looking phone that’s firmly positioned in the midrange in both processor and pricing.
The Desire 21 Pro 5G is a competent looking phone that adopts all the tropes of the midrange genre. Externally, it has a lovely glass sandwich design with a punch-hole selfie camera making for an uninterrupted screen. There’s a large 5,000 mAh battery, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a quad-camera layout with the 48MP wide, 8MP ultra-wide, and pair of 2MP cameras we’re used to. Most notably for the company, it has a 6.7-inch FullHD+ display running at 90Hz. It’s nothing special in a world where phones that run at 144Hz exist, but it’s a first for HTC.
As the name implies, it does have 5G support courtesy of the Snapdragon 690. That chip’s not as powerful as a 700 or 800-series processor obviously, but HTC’s aiming this phone at an everyday audience. Paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, it should be fine for most people.
While your mileage may vary on the hardware, HTC’s most annoying fumble here is releasing the handset on Android 10. It may not matter now, but it means someone buying this phone is unlikely to see Android 12, let alone 13. At a time when we’re starting to hold onto phones much longer, it’s a shame.
The HTC Desire 21 Pro 5G is going on sale In Taiwan for NT$11,990 which is roughly $430.
Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
$499 at Amazon
With a massive 6.7-inch AMOLED screen and a huge 4,500mAh battery, the Galaxy A71 5G plays to the midrange even better. It’s also available globally and should be supported for years with security updates.
