A quick stop over at HTC's website shows off what you'd probably expect: several different phones. At the top of the page you can see the company's latest flagship model meant for the general consumer, the U12+. Along with that you can see the U11 and the U11 Life, two handsets that might not have necessarily made huge waves at launch but that, at the very least, are worthwhile in their own regard.
And then you've got CryptoKitties. "Meow. Anytime. Anywhere." So that's a thing.
If you dig a bit deeper into the shopping area you'll find the aforementioned handsets, along with the U Ultra and the U Bolt (this last one I completely forgot about, as it was a Sprint exclusive and, well, that's probably all you need to forget something like that). There isn't any mention of buying the blockchain phone, what HTC launched as the Exodus 1 last year, unless you go looking for it and open up a different site.
The picture here isn't great, and that's been reflected in HTC's sales numbers to date. 2018 was basically an abysmal year for the smartphone manufacturer who hasn't had a solid place to stand in the market for quite some time. HTC's heyday has long since passed, and it's not entirely Samsung's fault, either. Not anymore, at least.
There are so many different Android manufacturers out there, but companies like OnePlus and Huawei, or Huawei's sub-brand Honor, have really taken off. Those companies have made some great phones, with fantastic specs, and most of them don't aim to break the bank. HTC's U12+ starts at $799 and that's not cheap, but it's definitely not the most expensive option out there, either.
Still, OnePlus's brand new OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition, which is maxed out in specs and aimed at high performance (along with 10GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage) starts at $699. That's hard to ignore for someone who is looking to buy a new smartphone and might be considering either company's latest and greatest.
Two weeks ago, HTC said it plans on "rebooting" smartphones in 2019 under its banner. The company is going to put more of a focus on mid-range and high-end devices in 2019, but that's all we know about what the company is planning. That's not a lot to go on, for sure, but at least it's something?
What that actually looks like in terms of real world devices will be very interesting. It's not like HTC released the U12+ and U11 Life (which the company has said actually sold well enough on their own) expecting them not to leave a lasting impression. So what can HTC do to turn things around in 2019? Let me know what you think, and whether or not you think the company can rebound this year.
