If your smartphone is not waterproof these days, then it would surely elicit a look of disdain from the rest of your mates. After all, isn’t it cool that you can be doing the dishes, and someone calls you, where you conveniently knock your smartphone over into the sink simply because you know it is waterproof -- only to pick it up nonchalantly and answer the call? Well, HTC figured out that it is about time to get on with the waterproof program by releasing the HTC 10 evo. The strange thing is this -- the HTC 10 evo is basically the HTC Bolt which was sold as an exclusive by Sprint over in the US, except that the HTC 10 evo will be sold as an exclusive smartphone from HTC later this month in two colors -- "Gunmetal" and "Glacier Silver", and you will not be able to find it on any networks.

Well, the HTC 10 evo is an oxymoron of a smartphone of sorts. For starters, it is a well built phone -- sporting a full metal body with a generous display at 1,440p resolution and strengthened by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The full metal body of the HTC 10 evo is also water, splash and dust resistant, conforming to the IP57 rating. The part of the HTC 10 evo that leaves many scratching their heads would be the Snapdragon 810 chipset that is a blast from the past, taking into consideration how most high end phones these days that have Snapdragon underneath the hood would be at least Snapdragon 820 or better. The Snapdragon 810 is an octa-core SoC which debuted a couple of years ago, before seeing action in the HTC M9 last year.

It will also run on Android 7.0 Nougat, but the fact is, one will be able to enjoy faster and better smartphones for a lower price point than the HTC 10 evo. FOr instance, the new and unlocked HTC 10 with 32GB of inernal memory will cost approximately $499 from HTC’s website, where it packs quite the punch with 4GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 820 chipset. The HTC Bolt, or HTC 10 evo, will retail for $599 a pop on Sprint. Fancy paying more for inferior hardware specifications, now how about that?

Well, perhaps there is something about the HTC 10 evo that we do not know, but the folks over at HTC have an idea on how it will be able to sell. What we like about the HTC 10 evo would be the inclusion of a microSD memory card slot, the solid build and design, a USB Type- C port that certainly keeps up with the times, although there will be no more 3.5mm audio jack for you to plug in your earphones. Heck, even the front-facing camera will keep selfie hunters happy by receiving a bump to 8MP now, and is comfortable to the grip in spite of its relatively large form factor. Would you prefer the HTC 10 evo or the HTC 10, if you had a choice?