HTC has said that it plans to release fewer phones in 2017, and this week the company shed a bit more light on how it’ll accomplish that.
During its Q4 2016 earnings call, HTC revealed that it will ditch the entry-level phone market and focus on high-margin devices. Any lower-end HTC phones that are already on the market will continue to be sold and supported, but we shouldn’t expect any new entry-level devices from HTC.
As for why HTC made this decision, it pointed to the high competition and low odds that it’ll make significant money from the entry-level market.
Going forward, HTC plans to offer mid-range and high-end devices. The plan is for the company to launch six or seven new phones total in 2017.
HTC has been having a bit of a rough time in mobile lately, so it makes sense for the company to slim down its device launches and focus on where it thinks it can make the most money. That said, competition in the high-end smartphone market is pretty fierce, and HTC’s new U Ultra is likely going to face some stiff competition from the likes of Samsung, LG, and others this year. We’ll just have to wait and see how the U Ultra performs when it hits the market and if HTC’s strategy of launching fewer devices this year will pay off.
