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HTC debuted a pair of new handsets today called the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, but a new report suggests that the company plans to release about half the number of smartphones it usually releases in a single year. The company held a launch event for the two new handsets in Taipei and Engadget’s Richard Lai spoke with HTC exec Chialin Chang about the company’s future plans.
Chang confirmed that HTC only plans to release six or seven phones this year, which is a definite reduction from previous years. For reference, here’s a quick peek at the last five years of HTC history so you can see how the company has slowly been shaving smartphone releases off of each calendar year for a while now.
- 2017: ~7 phones planned
- 2016: 15 phones
- 2015: 25 phones
- 2014: 34 phones
HTC says this focus on core features for smartphones will allow it to better compete against brand juggernauts like Samsung, who is nearly synonymous with Android phones to those people outside the tech community.
It will be interesting to see if HTC can focus on a core set of products instead of spreading itself so thin across so many devices each year. So what can we expect from HTC this year? According to Chang, his company has a few Desire handsets in the works for the budget markets, but when asked about the HTC 11 he refused to say much beyond admitting there won’t be a device that bears that name this year.
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