It is no secret that HTC is now a shadow of the brand that it once was. From being the maker of some terrific Android phones such as the HTC One M8 to not launching a flagship at all in a whole year or two, the company has definitely lost its mojo. Struggling to turn a profit, speculations have circulated for a while now that the Taiwanese company might call it quits anytime, but HTC has kept launching mid-range phones sporadically in a handful of markets over the last few quarters. LG’s exit from the market again sparked the HTC debate, but the brand is not backing down for at least another year.
More 5G phones and AR/VR hardware from HTC is coming in Q2 2021
As per a report from DigiTimes that cites industry sources, HTC plans to launch new 5G smartphones in the second quarter of 2021. In addition to phones, the company also has new AR/VR hardware – likely under the Vive branding – scheduled for debut at some point between April and June.
A little about the finances
Talking about the company’s financial performance, it reported revenue of NT$5.81 billion, with a gross profit of NT$1.56 billion for the 2020 fiscal year. For the month of March this year, the company announced revenue of NT$0.455 bn, with the total unaudited consolidated revenue for Q1 2021 standing at NT$1.175 bn. However, the mobile business continues to bleed money and keeps losing market share – whatever tiny fraction remains of it. HTC shut down its key retail channels in China back in 2019, and later in February 2020, shut down its official community forum for the market.
What has HTC done lately in the phone market?
Coming back to smartphones, the most recent phone launched by the company was the HTC Wildfire E3 that made its debut last month, and disappointingly, still ran Android 10. Earlier in January, it launched the 5G-ready HTC Desire 21 Pro that offered some decent specs such as a 90Hz display, four rear cameras, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 SoC at its heart. While hopes of a return to the glory days are bleak as Chinese smartphone makers continue to grow at a rapid pace, HTC can at least try to avoid the same fate as LG by returning back to its roots and making phones that stand out.
While the future remains uncertain, check out Pocketnow’s review of the HTC One M8 – one the greatest phone the company ever made – for the sake of nostalgia and try not to feel sad about how far the company has fallen from its heydays:
View HTC Desire 20 Pro on Amazon