HTC halves the number of different models in 2017

Smartphone maker HTC will halve the number of different models this year compared to last year. Where it came with around twelve new smartphones in 2016, the number will be six or seven in 2017, the manufacturer says.

By reducing the number of models, HTC wants to pay more attention to the ‘core features’ per device, says CEO Chialin Chang of the Taiwanese smartphone maker in an interview with Engadget. In 2017, HTC will include the digital assistant Sense Companion, the design and the Usonic earbuds with USB-C connection.

HTC has already shown two new phones of the six or seven that are coming. The manufacturer presented the U Ultra and U Play on Thursday. Both devices will be released in the Benelux at the beginning of March. The U Ultra includes a second screen above the main screen, as the LG V10 and V20 already had in previous years. Moreover, both devices do not have a 3.5mm jack for headsets and HTC puts the Usonic earphones in the box.

It is not the first time that HTC has cut the number of models to make better phones in its own words. For example, the manufacturer announced the same plan in 2012. Reducing the number of different models is also often a cost saving for manufacturers. Designers need to create fewer different designs, fewer different parts to buy and the software team to update for fewer different phones.