Gadgetory

I'm pairing a mid-level phone to a top-of-the-line model isn't exactly what you'd call fair then again it's not supposed to be I'm Joe Levi with pocket now and this is the htc desire 816 versus the HTC One m8 both the desire 816 and HTC One m8 run Android KitKat 4.4.2 with Sense UI 6 although certain features found on the one I made are missing in the desire a 16 tapped Wake is missing on the 816 as are the quick gestures to launch the camera you focus and Zoe are also missing from the 816 rounding up software we doubt there will be a Google Play edition of the desire but thanks to all the refinements in since UI 6 there probably doesn't need to be speaking of the camera on the surface the desire 816 s 13 megapixel shooter looks like a huge improvement over the one m8 4 megapixel sensor in practice images shot and perfect lighting have more detail and better resolution than on the One m8 however since many pics are shot in less than ideal situations the One m8 s camera despite having fewer megapixels edges out over the desire 816 the shape of both devices is almost identical it's the construction that's different the desire 816 is made of plastic with matte sides for superior grip but a glossy fingerprint magnet back that's slippery the One m8 features an aluminum back and is much less squeaky than the desire in everyday use despite their similar design once you look a little deeper obvious differences surfaced between the desire and the one to start with the desire is a little heavier than its big brother weighing in at 5.82 ounces for the 816 compared to 5.64 ounces for the one and 8 the batteries they sport are the same capacities 2600 milliamp hours but the screen on the desire is a bit bigger 5.5 inches versus the five inch or on the one m8 that's not where the screen difference is in the desire uses a super LCD to panel with a 720p resolution and only 267 pixels per inch the One m8 smaller screen uses LCD 3 technology to deliver a 1080p resolution with 441 PPI don't let that fool you though the display on the desire is big bold bright and looks fantastic HD video feels right at home on a more than adequately sized screen linking the screen on both devices are a pair of front firing stereo speakers although the grilles look different thanks to boom sound both phones sound great but neatly behind the glass of the desire 816 is a 1.6 gigahertz quad-core Snapdragon 400 and an Adreno 305 GPU the One m8 on the other hand is powered by a 2.3 gigahertz or 2.5 gigahertz Snapdragon 801 with an Adreno 330 GPU depending on configuration the designer also includes a little bit less Ram 1.5 gig compared to the ones 2 gig we're glad HTC split the difference and didn't go with a single gig on the desire 816 it comes to data both phones have LTE though we haven't been able to test how well it works on the desire since it's only compatible with t-mobile's edge bands when it comes to Wi-Fi however the desire doesn't include the 5 gigahertz band at all which means it doesn't have any 802 11a or AC like the One m8 does for why that's important make sure you check out our editorial on the topic the link is down in the description below another wireless technology that's missing from the desire is NFC though we can live without the Google Wallet and Isis features not being able to tap to beam content from one device to another is a major disappointment it comes to everyday performance of course the One m8 is going to win hands down over the desire 816 the processor and the RAM just aren't going to let the desire perform anywhere near what the One m8 does in practical use however we didn't notice any lag we didn't notice any slowdowns we really didn't miss any of that speed but we did notice however combined with the Snapdragon 400 and the audrina 305 powering that 720p display compared to what's on the One m8 battery life on the desire 816 was phenomenal it got us through not just a day but days of work our phone that's supposed to be the mid-tier line from HTC the desire 816 seems an awful lot more close to the top tier than does to the bottom if you don't mind a little bit more heft and a little bit more size combined with a little bit of cuts to the performance and the specs inside the desire 816 is a fabulous device when compared to the HTC One m8 that's how HTC's desire 816 stacks up against their very own One m8 we've got a lot more coverage coming on the desire 816 and why it might be something you should consider coming up here pocket now make sure you've subscribed so you don't miss out on any of that while you're at it make sure you like subscribe and share the video with your friends if you liked what you saw here for pocket now showing off phones comparing them to others I'm Jill Levi thanks for watching