The numbers are in and it looks like Q1 of 2017 wasn’t kind to HTC. The company has released is quarterly earnings report showing NT$14.5 billion ($479 million USD) in revenue for the quarter and an operating loss of NT$2.4 billion ($79 million USD).
The revenue figure is only down 1.75% YoY, but HTC managed to cut its net income losses in half from NT$4.8 billion to NT$2.4 billion. Another item to note is that revenue from Q1 of this year is the lowest on HTC’s books in over a decade, but its quarterly losses are the second lowest we’ve seen from HTC since Q2 of 2015. It’s clear that HTC has done some incredible internal restructuring and realignment to streamline its different businesses and cut out any unnecessary overhead expenses. All HTC really needs now is a decent phone that will resonate with consumers.
The launch of the HTC U 11 seems to be timed perfectly. While most will judge the phone in comparison to the Samsung Galaxy S8, the LG G6 and the Huawei P10, the success of the HTC U 11 should be determined by the impact it will have on HTC’s bottom line. HTC doesn’t need a Samsung Galaxy S8 killer. They simply need a product that can pull them out of the ditch that they’ve been stuck in for the past three years.
Source: HTC
The U 11 is not the savior HTC is looking for. It will be another failed design, this time with no headphone jack. Cutting out features doesn’t work for them. Any innovations they come up with won’t find success until someone else implements it after HTC abandons it. History will be repeated.
The U 11 looks to be pretty good device with some great specs. Unfortunately, the market is asking for bezel-less design and according to recent leaks HTC will keep the same old design. Also, I’m afraid the Edge Sense could be just a gimmick feature. The only good news is that the U 11 might be cheaper than the Ultra at launch.
I don’t think there’s evidence that the market is asking for bezel-less designs. There are two flagship devices on the market with that specific design and it’s doubtful that the LG G6 will sell that well.
There are also a lot of reports that the glass on the Galaxy S8 is breaking at a much higher rate than it has in the past. If true, there could be some market backlash for the edge-to-edge design due to durability concerns.