HTC is leaving the high end smartphone market

[Emperor_Piehead]

HTC is slowly becoming the next BB as profits keep dropping

 

 

 

HTC continues to struggle to find a strategy.  After saying last quarter that it was focused on building high end smartphones for the expanding Chinese market, where it has seen increasing success, HTC's new finance chief has abruptly announced that HTC instead would focus on a "broader" (read: low-to-mid range) lineup, stating, "We're looking at broader products in this quarter...we aim for higher volume into 2014 that will give better profitability."

II. Cutting Off its Arms and Legs to Save the Torso

If HTC indeed sticks to this plan, the HTC One and One Max -- high end, high quality, rather unique flagship Android phones -- may be the last of their kind in a sense, as HTC tries to fill lower spots on the food chain.

It's looking increasingly probable that HTC will adopt this approach out of necessity as it will likely have neither the engineering staff, nor the financial resources to design high-end Android handsets by the end of Q4 2013.

 

Meanwhile HTC's revenue continues to plunge downward.  HTC made NT$60B ($2.04B USD) in Q4 2012 -- not exactly great.  But by contrast, HTC's new forecast has that bitter memory looking a lot rosier as it just predicted revenue would fall by as much as a third to NT$40B ($1.36B USD) to NT$45B ($1.53B USD) for the quarter -- below the previous Thomson Reuters SmartEstimates analyst estimate of NT$47.1B ($1.60B USD) and far below the NT$52.2B ($1.77B USD) estimate that 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected.  

Net profit is expected to move from NT$1B ($33.9M USD) in Q4 2012 to anywhere between a modest NT$1.41B gain ($47.9M USD) (NT$1.70 earnings per share) -- at best -- to a drop to NT$83M ($2.8M USD) at worst.

 

So the HTC one series may be the last of there kind. HTC is trying to go after the low to mid end, but if this does workout profit is expected to be extremely low or break even. I feel if they keep losing money like this HTC will go out of business and the chairwomen refuses to sell the company.

 

Too bad since I really like my HTC one and everyone I know that has a HTC one also really like them.

 

source- http://www.dailytech.com/HTC+Abandons+HighEnd+as+Desperate+Cuts+Continue/article33685.htm

[JLCitadel]

I'm surprised, if I didn't chose a galaxy s or note, this would be my next pick. I thought a lot of people were on the HTC train?

[Freaky_spider]

NOOO! make a HTC one 2014 version PLEASE!!!!!, the concept of the ONE is great, you did some great things, why leave after getting good publicity, the one is all over the phone adverts in belguim (i  mean ISP that use it in ads)

[Emperor_Piehead]

I'm surprised, if I didn't chose a galaxy s or note, this would be my next pick. I thought a lot of people were on the HTC train?

It is in the tech world, but for the common people marketing and brand name mean everything which is what they are lacking. I probably see like one HTC one for every 30-40 Samsung galaxy phones.

[JLCitadel]

It is in the tech world, but for the common people marketing and brand name mean everything which is what they are lacking. I probably see like one HTC one for every 30-40 Samsung galaxy phones.

 

I honestly see about a 5 4 3 1 split.

 

5 being samsung, 4 being apple, 3 being other phones in general, 1 being htc.

 

1 out of every 10 phones I see is an HTC. Sometimes more

[Samdb]

I have a HTC One X and it's awesome, now the only real alternative is Samsung and it's made of plastic.

[linusforsell]

Poor HTC, their highend phones are truly great and I love my current HTC One X, they don't really deserve this fate. Sadly they just can't stand up to Samsung.

 

I think I've seen one One (heh) in the flesh.  :unsure:

[Mooshi]

I said this before in another thread that was discussing those block phones. It doesn't matter how great anything is in the phone segment, people will blindly follow Samsung and Apple before anything else. Kinda like those Xbox vs Playstation fanboys that forget Nintendo exists.

[Hazy125]

I have a HTC One X and it's awesome, now the only real alternative is Samsung and it's made of plastic.

Umfortunately samsung is just a much larger company... I mean, they even make microwaves... They can afford minor losses and still be able to afford R&D into new phones, HTC just doesn't have that. Which is a real shame. i myself am a Samsung fanboy, but damn HTC made some exceptional phones

[CwGoh]

Well they did go all out to release the one and it stirred a lot of publicity but not that many sales as they wanted to. I would have been fed up, if I were in their shoes, if I had done so much to create a beautiful phone that in the end still loses to the S4.

[Samdb]

Umfortunately samsung is just a much larger company... I mean, they even make microwaves... They can afford minor losses and still be able to afford R&D into new phones, HTC just doesn't have that. Which is a real shame. i myself am a Samsung fanboy, but damn HTC made some exceptional phones

 

We need more high end phone manufacturers. It seems like the Nexus 5 is going to be my next phone.

[cliodude1]

I am actually so sad to hear this. HTC was the only company that actually innovated to make themselves stand out from the mainstream crowd (Apple and Samsung), and they're still losing money fast. I'm so sad to know that my next high end phone will not be a HTC phone, and they'll only be manufacturing low-mid end phones My only choice is the Nexus 5 after HTC.

[KaareKanin]

It seems pretty clear that the world doesn't want high quality phones any more :-(

[Hazy125]

We need more high end phone manufacturers. It seems like the Nexus 5 is going to be my next phone.

No one really has enough capital and those that do either already make high end smartphones or make CPU's or something and will struggle to get into the market. I'm personally hoping that Ubuntu can change this

[Emperor_Piehead]

We need more high end phone manufacturers. It seems like the Nexus 5 is going to be my next phone.

Yeah, Samsung and Apple will pretty much be all that is left in the high end except smaller brands coming out with something like LG and the G2 or the Nexus line. 

[Rekx]

It seems pretty clear that the world doesn't want high quality phones any more :-(

Apple?

[wng_kingsley7]

Damn it........If HTC are really going out of business I can't sell them my idea for a new display technology and my HTC One X will cry noooooo

[Rekx]

Im pretty happy about my Note 3. Though its still sad to see HTC go away

[cjeffcoatjr]

nooooooooooooooo.com I was really looking forward to the next HTC one....

[KaareKanin]

Apple?

It's probably the iOS and Appleness that makes apple sell, if it were the quality, that should have been reflected in the HTC One sales

[HaZardousLP]

[jrfox87]

Well this blows, hopefully Sony, LG, or Motorolla will be able to challenge Samsung at the high end with Android instead. HTC had the potential to do it, but it takes a couple generations with a really great phone to really gain mindshare with regular people. I was hoping HTC would be able to push Samsung to improve how their Galaxy S line feels build quality wise.

[Ramzez]

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!

 

I've had HTC phones for many years now. I haven't really even considered buying anything else because the quality of HTC phones have always been really high. Also I like the fact that it isn't that common device. Everyone these days have an iPhone or Galaxy S.

[RexinOridle]

Samsungs feel like cheap plastic, HTCs are great. I love my HTC one. Why people wouldn't buy a HTC?

[stevv]

Why people wouldn't buy a HTC?

 

I for one adverted HTC every time I see that sense interface.  The trauma of dealing with it in their past models.  Overpriced developer model.