First 64-bit Android phone has no 64-bit software

When Apple launched the iPhone 5S with a 64-bit processor, it sent the rest of the spec-obsessed SoC world on a race to catch up. After about a year of lag time, the Android ecosystem has finally started to catch up, with HTC announcing the Desire 510, the first 64-bit Android phone.

The Desire's 64-bit badge comes courtesy of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410. The first 64-bit Qualcomm chip isn't a high-end monster that rivals the Snapdragon 805; it's instead a low-end chip—Qualcomm's lineup is being upgraded from the bottom up, it seems. The SoC has four Cortex A53 CPU cores running at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, and LTE. The rest of the phone is packing a 4.7-inch 854x480 display, 5MP camera, 8GB of storage (plus a microSD slot), and a 2100 mAh battery.

While the chip is 64-bit, the Desire 510 doesn't actually run any 64-bit software—it runs Android 4.4, a 32-bit OS. The hardware is ready, but the rest of the Android ecosystem still needs to catch up. The first version of Android to support 64-bit apps will be Android L, which is due out sometime this year. Hopefully HTC takes advantage of its forward-looking hardware and updates the OS.

When full 64-bit support does come, it won't just be about more memory; the ARMv8 instruction set that comes with the new architecture also offers a performance boost. In the iPhone 5S, 64-bit ARMv8 CPU benchmarks run about 30 percent faster than 32-bit ARMv7 benchmarks on the same hardware.

The press release doesn't say when the device will hit the market, only that it "will be available" in Europe, Asia, and the US.  If you're holding out for a high-end 64-bit Android or Windows Phone device, you'll have to wait until next year.