HTC Desire (A8181) vs Apple iPhone Air (256GB)
Side by side comparison between HTC Desire vs Apple iPhone Air phones, differences, pros, cons and full specifications. What's the better?
,
3.7"
SLCD
SLCD
480x800
5
MP
MP
576MB
RAM
RAM
Single-core
1400
mAh
mAh
(Removable)
vs
6.5"
OLED
OLED
1260x2736
48
MP
MP
18mp
12GB
RAM
RAM
Hexa-core
3149
mAh
mAh
(Non removable)
What's the better phone? Apple iPhone Air (256GB)
The phonemore's choice is much more technical than personal. Therefore, you shouldn't only consider this. Our goal is to help you, but what's important to us may not be important to you. You decide which one is the best! Comment!
6 Advantages 
28 Advantages | 13 Common items in both devices |
| Only digital zoom |
| Autofocus / PDAF: phase detection autofocus on both cameras |
| Capacitive |
| Multitouch |
| Accelerometer |
| Ambient light sensor |
| Compass |
| +6 specs and more in the table below |
Check the comparison table below for more items that are not evaluated in comparison score above.
Highlight differences Clear highlight📱 Model features | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Model | Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) |
| Other model names | HTC Desire A8181, HTC Bravo | iPhone 17 Air (A3260, A3517, A3518) |
| Country or region available | feature not registered |  (Global, International) |
| Brand | HTC | Apple |
| Release date | 3/31/2010 | 9/19/2025, Announced: 9/9/2025 |
| Depth | 11.9 millimeters (0.47 inches) | 5.6 millimeters (0.22 inches) |
| Size (width x height) | 60 x 119 millimeters (2.36 x 4.69 in) | 74.7 x 156.2 millimeters (2.94 x 6.15 in) |
| Weight | 135 grams (4.73 ounces) | 165 grams (5.78 ounces) |
| Build, materials | feature not registered | Titanium frame, glass front and back Back: Ceramic Shield |
| Protection against water and others | Not supported | IP68 certified: water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for 30min and dust-resistant |
📲 Display | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Display type | TFT Super LCD | LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED |
| Screen size | 3.7" inches | 6.5" inches |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~54.6% (screen-to-body ratio) | ~88.8% (screen-to-body ratio) |
| Display resolution | 480x800 pixels | 1260x2736 pixels (19.5:9) |
| Touchscreen | Capacitive Multitouch | Capacitive Multitouch |
| Pixel density (dot pitch) | 252 PPI | 463 PPI |
| Colors | 16 million | 1 billion |
| Scratch-resistant glass | Gorilla Glass | Ceramic Shield 2 |
| Refresh rate | feature not registered | 120Hz |
| Display features | feature not registered | 1000nits[typ], 3000nits[peak] Dolby Vision/HDR10 Always-On Display Oleophobic coating screen True-tone Wide color gamut |
🤖 Operating System | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| System version | Android 2.1 Eclair | iOS 26 |
| Firmware update | Android 2.2.1 Froyo | feature not registered |
| User Interface | feature not registered | feature not registered |
⚙️ Processor | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Chipset | 32bit: Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 | 64bit: Apple A19 Pro (3nm) |
| CPU | Single-core, 1 processor: 1x 1GHz Scorpion (Single-core) | Hexa-core, 2 processors: 2x 4.26GHz P-Core (Dual-core) 4x 2.2GHz E-Core (Quad-core) |
| GPU graphical controller | Qualcomm Adreno 200 | A19 Pro GPU (5-core) |
| Performance (benchmark) | feature not registered | AnTuTu: 2000993 (v10) Geekbench: 9682 (v6.5) |
💽 Memory and storage | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| RAM memory | 576MB LPDDR | 12GB LPDDR5X |
| Internal storage | 512MB (151MB available) | 256GB (230GB available) NVMe (SSD) |
| External storage | Until 32GB microSD, microSDHC (dedicated slot) | Not supported |
📶 Mobile networks | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Dual-SIM | Not supported | Dual-SIM Standby - Call active on one sim card |
| SIM card | 1 slot (Single-SIM) Standard mini-SIM (2FF) | e-SIM (Eletronic) |
| Maximum Download / Upload | 7.2/2 Mbps | 5000/1024 Mbps |
| Network technology | 2G, 3G | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Frequency, bands | Expand band details Collapse details | |
| GSM MHz band | Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900 | Quad-Band 850/900/1800/1900 |
| Primary 2G network | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 | CDMA 800/1900, GSM 850/900/1800/1900 |
| Primary 3G network | UMTS 900/2100 | CDMA2000 1xEV-DO UMTS 850/900/1700/1900/2100 |
| Primary 4G network | Not supported | LTE Cat20 VoLTE A3517 (International): LTE (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 53, 66) TD-LTE (34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48) A3260 (USA): LTE (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 53, 66, 71) TD-LTE (34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48) A3518 (Canada, Mexico, EMEA): LTE (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 53, 66, 71) TD-LTE (34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48) |
| Primary 5G network | Not supported | A3517 (International): SA/NSA/Sub6 (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79) A3260 (USA): SA/NSA/Sub6 (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79) A3518 (Canada, Mexico, EMEA): SA/NSA/Sub6 (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79) |
| Primary data network | CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA | GPRS, EDGE, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev A, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, TD-LTE, LTE, LTE-A, SA/NSA, Sub6, mmWave |
| Secondary 2G network | Not supported | Not supported |
| Secondary 3G network | Not supported | Not supported |
| Secondary 4G network | Not supported | Not supported |
| Secondary data network | Not supported | Not supported |
📷 Camera | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Back camera (main camera) | 5 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Main camera resolution | 2560x1920 pixels | 8000x6000 pixels |
| Video recording (primary) | HD (1280x720) 30 fps | 4K UHD (3840x2160) 60 fps |
| Flash | LED flash | Dual-LED flash |
| Focal aperture | feature not registered | f/1.6 (aperture) |
| Focal length | feature not registered | 26mm (lens) |
| Sensor size | feature not registered | 1/1.56" inches |
| Pixel size | feature not registered | 1µm pixel |
| Autofocus | Autofocus | PDAF: phase detection autofocus on both cameras |
| Touch focus | feature not registered | Supported |
| Image stabilization | feature not registered | OIS: Optical stabilization on both cameras |
| Zoom | Only digital zoom | Only digital zoom |
| Face/smile detection | Face detection | Face detection, Smile detection |
| BSI sensor | feature not registered | Supported |
| HDR | feature not registered | HDR photo/video on both cameras |
| Camera extras | feature not registered | 4K@24/25/30/60fps 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps Dolby Vision (60fps) |
📸 Front camera | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Front camera (secondary) | Not supported | (dual front camera) 18 megapixels 0.3MP SL 3D |
| Front camera resolution | Not supported | 5184x3456 pixels |
| Video recording (secondary) | Not supported | 4K UHD (3840x2160) |
| Front flash | Not supported | Not supported |
| Focal aperture | feature not registered | f/1.9 (aperture) |
| Focal length | feature not registered | feature not registered |
| Sensor size | feature not registered | feature not registered |
| Pixel size | feature not registered | feature not registered |
🔉 Sound and multimedia | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Loudspeaker | Supported | Mono sound (not stereo) Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio 3D |
| Active noise cancellation | feature not registered | 2 microphones |
| Radio | FM (RDS) | Not supported |
| TV | Not supported | Not supported |
| Video formats | MP4, H.263, H.264, WMV9 | MP4, H.265, H.264, H.263, XviD, MKV |
| Audio formats | MP3, AAC+, WAV, WMA9 | MP3, WAV, WMA, eAAC+, FLAC |
🔌 Connectivity | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| USB | MicroUSB 2.0 | USB 2.0 Type-C reversible connector |
| Audio output | 3.5mm jack | Type-C reversible connector |
| TV output | Not supported | USB Type-C (reversible) |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 + A2DP | 6.0 + A2DP/LE |
| WiFi | 802.11 b/g [wifi3] (2.4GHz) | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be [wifi7/6E/6] (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz) + MIMO WiFi hotspot |
| DLNA | feature not registered | Not supported |
| GPS | A-GPS, GeoTagging | A-GPS, GeoTagging, GLONASS, GALILEO, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC |
| NFC | Not supported | Supported |
| Infrared port | feature not registered | Not supported |
🧭 Sensors | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer Ambient light sensor Compass Proximity sensor | Accelerometer Ambient light sensor Barometer Compass Face unlock 3D Gyroscope Proximity sensor UWB (Ultra Wideband) |
| Vibrating alert | Supported | Supported |
🔋 Battery | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Battery type | Li-Ion: lithium-ion (Removable) | Li-Ion: lithium-ion (Non removable) |
| Battery capacity | 1400 mAh | 3149 mAh |
| Charger, watts | Wired charging | 30W Wired fast charging 4.5W Reverse charging by cable USB Power Delivery 2.0 |
| Inductive / wireless charging | feature not registered | 25W Qi2 wireless charging |
| Talk time autonomy | 6.5 hours | feature not registered |
| Standby | 360 hours (15 days) | feature not registered |
➕ Other features | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| Call control | Voice recorder | Voice dialing, Voice recorder, Voice commands |
| Messaging | SMS (T9), MMS, E-mail, Push mail | SMS (T9), MMS, E-mail, Push mail |
| Hands-free calling | Supported | Supported |
| Video calling | Not supported | Supported |
| Ringtones | Polyphonic and customized | Polyphonic and customized |
| Web browser | HTML, XHTML, Flash player | HTML, XHTML, HTML5 |
| Antenna | Internal antenna | Internal antenna |
| Qwerty physical keyboard | Not supported | Not supported |
| Miscellaneous | • Colors: Black, Brown, Silver, White • Video recording at 720p only Android Froyo update • Optical mouse (Touchpad) • HTC Sense UI • Java framework | • Colors: Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue • Apple Intelligence • Apple Pay • Face ID • MagSafe |
☢️ Radiation rate | ||
| HTC Desire (A8181) | iPhone Air (256GB) | |
| SAR 1.6W/kg (USA, Mexico, etc.) | feature not registered | feature not registered |
| SAR 2W/kg (Europe, UK, etc.) | feature not registered | feature not registered |