HTC won’t make entry-level smartphones from now

HTC has been facing tough times for quite a while now. The Taiwanese major posted seventh consecutive quarterly loss earlier this week. And if a new report is to be believed, the company is planning on taking a drastic step to go profitable – discontinue manufacturing of entry-level smartphones. As reported by Phone Scoop website, HTC plans to completely exit entry-level smartphone market and will only focus on flagship handsets with high profit margins. The company announced the news via a conference call while discussing its Q4 results. The reason for the decision is because HTC sees the affordable segment less profit-making.
The company’s departure from entry-level market won’t affect the current buyers. HTC says it will continue to sell budget handsets and offer support for them. It was also mentioned that the company will reduce the number of smartphone launches to six or seven per year. The news goes in line with what was reported last month, when the company’s president of smartphone and connected devices unit Chialin Chang confirmed the decision. Chang said that launching limited number of handsets per year will make the company focus more towards the handset’s ‘core features’. One of these ‘core features’ in the recently launched HTC U Play and the HTC U Ultra is the Sense Companion app. The app, as per company ,learns the user’s working patterns and optimizes the device accordingly. It also keeps users updated with their daily routine, weather and more.