HTC announces a preview program to test new hardware and software earlier
HTC today nonchalantly announced they are opening a preview program to give feedback on forthcoming goods. While preview programs themselves are nothing new — Motorola says hello — HTC says they’ll be giving users and enthusiasts the chance to test not only software, but also hardware. Yes, that means you could find yourself testing out a new HTC device before it’s on store shelves.
To make the announcement, the company opened up with an ask me anything session on Reddit featuring the team behind the preview program. The session itself raised interesting questions, such as how HTC plans to keep a lid on leaks (hint: they have a strong NDA with an even stronger legal team behind it) and how much information a user has to give HTC during the tests. There were also other interesting bits revealed, such as HTC’s plan to keep thinning HTC Sense and cut down on the bloatware (which we saw them start to do with the HTC One A9).
You can read more from the session here (there are some playful questions, and thanks to a development team which doesn’t take itself too seriously the answers are just as entertaining). For those only interested in signing up for the preview program, you can park it right here, but note that signing up doesn’t guarantee you’ll be selected to participate.