Sources from HTC’s Taiwan supply chain have revealed that the company are looking to shave 30% off orders for One M9 components due to a lower than expected demand for the handset.
Sources said that the M9’s poor reception was the result of a lack of differentiation in the marketplace, citing a design that looked too similar to the original and hardware specifications that didn’t set it apart enough from rival flagships.
It seems a little unfair to blame HTC directly for these faults, as it hasn’t really done anything wrong when compared with rival companies. Most of the recent Android flagships have been stuffed full of features and really put a spotlight on providing something fresh and innovative besides the obligatory CPU and RAM upgrades. With so many to choose from at the moment, maybe they did need a stand-out feature or something for them to focus attention on in marketing pitches.
Still, phonearena has come up with a plausible hypothesis for the poor sales: the Samsung Galaxy S6 launch. Mere hours after announcing the One M9, Samsung went on record and revealed their most powerful Galaxy devices yet, stealing all the media buzz that HTC had just fought to get.
If there’s one way to put out the flames of a device launch, it’s revealing your product within hours of the competition. Poor HTC, we hope things get better.
For more on HTC, visit What Mobile’s dedicated HTC page.