Earlier this week, HTC released the Desire 816 in India in order to penetrate into the mid-level smartphone segment in the country. But, the vendor has to consider that the Indian market segment is already obsessed with a plethora of offerings, some of them being the best sellers as well.
One of the global makers to have captured the minds of the consumers in the country is Samsung that has released handsets in almost all the segments. A noteworthy Samsung handset in the mid-range segment is Galaxy Grand 2 that has been acclaimed for its performance and pricing. Now, let us take a look at the comparison between these two phablets to know which one is better. 
Display and Processor
As consumers prefer large screen phones, both the handsets include 5 inch plus displays with a 5.5 inch Super LCD 2 capacitive touch screen panel on the Desire 816 and a slightly smaller 5.25 inch capacitive touch screen one on the Galaxy Grand 2. When it comes to the screen resolution, both are given HD resolution of 1280×720 pixels. Being smaller in size, the Samsung offering comes with an increased pixel density of 280 pixels per inch, while that of the HTC phone is only 267 pixels per inch. But this is a small difference only and it will not have a major impact on the content being displayed. On the other hand, the HTC Desire 816 incorporates a Super LCD 2 display that actually consumes less power, thereby preventing the battery drain due to the display
Talking about the processing power, both the devices come equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipsets coupled with Adreno 305 GPU. But, the HTC Desire 816 uses a quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex A7 processor, whereas the Galaxy Grand 2 uses a relatively slower 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor. With the only difference being in the clock speed of the processor, there should be not much variation in the overall performance. Again, for multi-tasking both the devices incorporate a 1.5 GB of RAM that should be decent enough.
Camera and Internal Storage
The Desire 816 packs a 13 MP camera at its back teamed up with auto focus, LED flash, HDR shooting mode and 1080p video recording. It also combines a 5 MP front-facing snapper that is responsible for capturing selfies and for video calling at 720p. In comparison, the Galaxy Grand 2 fares average with an 8 MP auto focus and LED flash equipped primary camera that can capture 1080p videos and a 1.9 MP front-facer.
To handle the storage requirements of the users, both Desire 816 and Galaxy Grand 2 come packed with 8 GB of internal storage that can be expanded. But the difference is that the Samsung offering supports up to 64 GB, while the HTC phablet supports up to a whopping 128 GB of additional storage.
Battery and Features
Both the Desire 816 and Galaxy Grand 2 are fueled by 2,600 mAh batteries and while the backup delivered by the one in the HTC phone remains undisclosed that in its opponent is said to provide up to 17 hours of talk time and 370 hours of standby time on 3G networks. On the software front, the Desire 816 stand one step ahead as it runs on the latest iteration of the Android – v4.4.2 KitKat, the Galaxy Grand 2 is based on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean without any word regarding an upgrade.
Also, the platform is topped by the HTC Sense 5.5 UI, which is enhanced as compared to the Samsung TouchWiz UI. Further, the Desire 816 features dual speakers at the front that are clubbed with the BoomSound feature for superior audio quality. On the other hand, the Galaxy Grand 2 comes loaded with features such as Story Album, S Translator, S Travel, Samsung Hub and Group Play.
Key Specs
| Model | HTC Desire 816 | Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 |
| Display | 5.5 inch, HD | 5.25 inch, HD |
| Processor | 1.6 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 400 | 1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 400 |
| RAM | 1.5 GB | 1.5 GB |
| Internal Storage | 8 GB, Expandable up to 128 GB | 8 GB, Expandable up to 64 GB |
| OS | Android 4.4.2 KitKat | Android 4.3 Jelly Bean |
| Camera | 13 MP/ 5 MP | 8 MP/ 1.9 MP |
| Battery | 2,600 mAh | 2,600 mAh |
| Price | Rs 23,990 | Rs 22,999 |
Price and Conclusion
Both the HTC Desire 816 and Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 have almost similar specifications with the only major differences lying in certain aspects. For instance, the HTC phone has better cameras, Sense UI that can offer an enhanced user experience and a faster processor. But, these additions come only by paying additional bucks for it as the Desire 816 is priced at Rs 23,990, while the Galaxy Grand 2 launched at Rs 22,999 is now available online at Rs 20,794.
