HTC: We have stopped innovating in smartphone hardware

HTC stopped innovating in hardware for smartphones and that is a major reason why the sales of devices from the Taiwanese manufacturer have declined in recent years. That claims the new director of the company in an interview.

As HTC shifted its focus to virtual reality, the company’s smartphone progress came to a halt, said HTC CEO Yves Maitre, who took office last month, in an interview on TechCrunch Disrupt. “Competitors like Apple, Samsung and most recently Huawei have invested a lot in hardware innovations. We have not done that.”

It is mainly a fault in timing, Maitre thinks. HTC focused on VR three years ago, but that market did not grow nearly as fast as expected. “Someone once said to me, ‘to be right at the wrong time is the same as being wrong and being wrong at the right time is the same as being right’. We were right at the wrong time.”

HTC will focus on more expensive smartphones to turn the tide, Maitre said. In addition, the director said he hopes the manufacturer will have a surprise “in the coming months”. “People want the best hardware and the best photography from HTC and that’s a question HTC will be looking to answer in the coming months.”

The most recent high-end smartphone to hit the mainstream market was the U12+ from last spring. After that, the manufacturer came up with the Exodus, a blockchain smartphone. This year there was no high-end smartphone from the Taiwanese manufacturer.