HTC's Desire 10 is a budget phone in a fancy suit

HTC's Desire 10 is a budget phone in a fancy suit ,

HTC Desire 10

Dan Seifert

HTC’s midrange Desire line has been the company’s bread winner for the past couple of years, while HTC has struggled to compete with Samsung and Apple on the high end. But while the Desire line has been hugely important to HTC’s bottom line, it has always had a playful, less serious look than the company’s other phones.

That’s changing today, as the Desire 10 sheds the youthful appearance for a more grown-up take. The Desire 10 is actually two phones — there’s a "pro" version and a "lifestyle" model — but while the specs and features differ between the two, they share a common design language.

And the best way to describe that design language is "adult." The Desire 10 comes in four colors: black, navy, white, and a pale blue that HTC calls "Valentine Lux" for whatever reason. Both versions are made of plastic, but feature metal trim that makes them feel more upscale than their prices suggest. Of the four colors, the black and the navy are particularly handsome.

Aside from design similarities, the Desire 10 pair share the same display size and software. But beyond that, they are rather different.

The Desire 10 pro has a 1080p display; MediaTek Helio P10 processor; 3 or 4GB of RAM; 32 or 64GB of storage; a 20-megapixel rear camera; a 13-megapixel front camera; and a fingerprint scanner. The lifestyle version ditches the fingerprint scanner; has a 720p display; a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor; 2 or 3GB of RAM; 16 or 32GB of storage; a 13-megapixel rear camera; a 5-megapixel front camera; and Hi-Res audio certification.

Dan Seifert

The Desire 10 lifestyle will be available in the UK and other markets starting today for £249 (about $324), while the Desire 10 pro will arrive in next month for a yet to be determined price. HTC says it will sell the phones globally, but availability in the US is still to be decided.