The End of HTC
Question, how many of you here know about HTC and its phones? My guess surely wouldn't be on many, I can bet on that haha. Some probably never even heard about the brand itself.
Yet, even if you did know about it, then the chances are that you probably forgot about it and its legendary phones. To be honest, it's tough to spot such underrated devices when people just want glamour, always chasing brand and image instead of performance or innovation.
People would rather have an Apple logo at the back of their phones. Even if there are better options to choose from, most would rather quite blindly choose to rock the Apple logo instead. Never even thinking for once, if this is actually the perfect fit for them in terms of features and the other things it has to offer. Now, I'm no hater of Apple or Samsung devices, I've used them both and I really can't say it was an all in all fun experience. Yes, phones are usually bought when a certain device suits someone's "style" and preferences. So, what suits me might not suit you.
Yet, there are some people who "think", that they now know it all, after being with one damn device or brand. After that most of them start preaching about that certain brand and device.
Mentioning repeatedly how that one brand is just full of next level innovation and tech. Making such statements without even having a look at the whole market. People should really try out some other brands and devices, or at least do some research on them.
Now, I wasn't always an HTC fanboy. I was just like the common bunch about a decade ago.
Nokia was without a doubt the hype back then. A time when everyone used to think that Nokia was invincible and truly irreplaceable, as if they made the best phones in the world and non even came close. And it was somewhat true you know, it surely did feel that way sometimes.
Starting from the classy metallic finish business class N series phones to the funky XpressMusic models and ending with the much cheaper Nokia 1000 series. Yet, if we're talking raw performance and build quality, then the cheaper options surely were the ones to go with. What a phone the Nokia 1100 model was, AS SOLID AS A GOD DAMN ROCK, you could kill someone with that thing lol.
So, just like the common bunch, I had quite luckily received the Nokia Xpressmusic 5800 as a gift, back in 2009 I'm guessing. It was my first phone and the gift came from China actually, sent by one of my father's clients. That day when I received that phone, quite suddenly, the air was fresher, life was sweeter and it was proven to me, that dreams actually do come true haha.
Soon after though, my everlasting smirk of having this funky phone in my hand had to come to an end. Because just a few weeks later me and my family went over to a relative's place for dinner. And quite sadly, yet gladly, on that day for the first time, I laid my eyes upon a HTC phone.
That phone was owned by my very geeky cousin and I have to admit, that man was one hell of techie for his age. He's probably the reason for me being this geeky when it comes to anything related to tech. He knew it all, phones, computers, music systems/players, you name it, the list goes on.
Now, the moment of truth, after we reached their place I went straight up to his room. Poor little me, I just wanted to showoff my new funky ass phone. Sadly, I got the UNO reverse card treatment instead hahaha. After a few minutes of showing off my Nokia, he brought out his HTC, it was the HTC Touch Pro 2 I think.
At first I thought it wouldn't be much. What even is a HTC? Sounded more like a disease than phone a company.
Yet, after just a few minutes, I was convinced that HTC was doing something right. They had plans and features which the common people didn't want or just didn't know about. The features it had were just too good compared to my Nokia. The more surprising part was that both phones cost the same too. The differences and features were mainly OS based, the HTC was simply a mini computer, running on Windows. Whereas my Nokia had the common and much boring Symbian OS.
That day I got to know two things, first being my knowledge on tech, it was absolute horseshit. All the knowledge I had was quite common, even the average Joe knew about it all. And the second thing was, that HTC was going be a big deal very soon.
Now, at present time about 13 years later, every tech geek and even the common techie knows about HTC. Well, the ones around me surely do know about HTC.
Sadly for us, HTC stopped making proper flagships phones for some reason. It seems that they're still making phones, but it's mostly mid-ranged phones with average tech and almost no signs of innovation.
The phone you see above, the HTC 10, this was their last proper and most loved flagship phone. It was released back in 2016, but I got it around mid 2017 when the price was a bit more affordable. I paid an exact amount of $420, no joke, that's how it is according to today's date and rates at least haha. And trust me when I say this, this thing is still going strong. I just changed the battery once back in 2019 and that's it.
Before this model the M9 was released, which was alright, but I myself didn't like it that much. I was using the HTC M8 back then, it was their best flagship and also the best phone in the market back in its time. Even that one ran for a strong 4 years straight.
This HTC 10 though, it went through some really rough and serious levels of mobile gaming back in 2017 and 2018. I surely don't know how it has managed to survive for this long. This phone and HTC itself, these are more than just phones or a simple company to me. The amount of memories I have with these phones and this brand, it's all inexpressible. From the many beautiful pictures I've taken on it, to the long gaming sessions with friends. The company's marketing strategies, innovative features introduced, some memorable joint ventures too, tough to forget about all these. It's all proper effort towards the love for technology and innovation.
HTC was probably the only brand that gave a damn about music, this phone right here had a goddamn built-in DAC AMP, a proper one. You music freaks surely know what that means haha. This thing was also rocking a 1440P resolution screen, even most of the phones these days have 1080P resolution on them. Not to mention the plastic or polycarbonate combo, it just feels cheap. This thing though, a full solid aluminum back and frame, it just feels different in the hand. It also adds to the phone's longevity and build quality, nothing comes close to this, not yet at least. Also, you'll have access to some of the most customizable options you'll find on a phone, even to this day.
If you want such features now, then you'll surely have to break the bank. Even then I doubt you'd get your hands on such a masterpiece. It's a phone that's way ahead of its time. I surely will miss using this thing, a proper handy and feature packed flagship phone. They truly don't make phones like these anymore, there's always something missing, a bit too much is compromised nowadays.
Too much focus goes into just making more money, instead of balancing it out like the old days. Back then, almost every aspect and category got proper attention, not just the money making business part of it.
Although, I do see some proper changes being implemented by a few companies, but it's just too early in the process to actually tell if all of it is gonna be worthwhile or not. Time will tell though, let's see where it all goes.
For now, I'll be taking a leave, it's been a long and tiring day today. Be seeing you folks on the next one. Take care now. 🥃
HTC was there when Nokia ruled, Samsung rocked, and Redmi and similar brands owned the market; the whole time. What I liked about htc is its ability to capture splendid images even in low light which came as a significant feature in today's brands. Probably htc failed in advertising, otherwise, there's no way we could overlook such a quality phone.
Yes, they had more sales, but most of the flagships just weren't as good compared to the HTC One series. Especially if we're talking about 2012 to around 2016/17. During this period HTC was swooping through and winning almost every category a flagship could've offered. Sadly, they just didn't have the "brand image" required to get the mass public's attention. And when they were getting close, they stopped for some reason.
I think Google really did take a huge chunk of the company, that's what I've heard at least. HTC was involved in making a lot of Nexus and Pixel phones, those phones did quite well too. So I'd say that's mainly the reason HTC stopped making world class flagships.
My guess is that they were somewhat stopped from making good phones for themselves and instead ordered to make or design flagships for others.
Brand image; I forgot to focus on this particular word earlier, however, you said it all.
In fact, I didn't know it was this deep untill now, so, thanks a ton- time to preach the gained knowledge somewhere else 🤣🤣
It only gets deep when you choose to dive deep...🤽♀
The smartphone market is quite brutal with state-supported smartphone companies producing great mid-range phones at unbeatable prices. Surely companies like Nokia and HTC cannot compete on this level. It takes sources to innovate and without much patronage from consumers, such investments are unlikely.
I never got to use a HTC phone even though I wanted to. It was the rave back then after the blackberry era. How time flies. Just in the space of a decade or two, we have seen the rise and fall of many tech companies.
Way too many brother, some really good companies. Like you said, they were missing some kind of a source, or leadership qualities I'd say.
Nokia for example, their choice of not going with Android and choosing to run Windows instead, that was their biggest mistake. They thought they could've tackled the likes of Android OS or IOS with their Windows phones.
Sadly, Windows phones had nothing unique to offer, unlike the other two options of OS. On top of that, the Windows experience on phones back then were wayy too confusing and extremely boring, a bit unoptimized too I'd say.
HTC and LG, these two brands that will always be in my heart. My dad had an LG flippable phone that came from Italy with two screens and a rotatable camera. I used that one a lot, too many memories were in it later it was stolen on the same date as Sheikh Hasina's husband's death. And my brother used to use HTC, it had an amazing camera.
Btw one of my friends uses HTC 10, I had heard something like that this model will be inoperative soon.
HTC and LG both are OGs when it comes to phones, yet they also are criminally underrated.
It could be legit, all these models are getting quite old you know.
Amor bhai uses LG, hard to get these users in our country now.
Luckily, I'm surrounded by tech geeks, ones who actually enjoy using such underrated devices. They actually know about the key elements that are required when it comes to making a "flagship" phone or just a good phone itself.
True, normal users don't bother much on these.
And that's the sad part, but I also do understand why it works that way. It takes a decent amount of effort and research to pick out such phones. Because these devices are usually buried under the common pile and not many want to put in the effort to dig around.
Which one you are using now?
Got the Pixel 6, had to, it's somewhat the only decent android phone in the market, in my books at least.
On top of that, the touch screen on the HTC has been acting up for quite a long time now, 40% of the screen doesn't even work. 😂
Pixel 6 😯😯
Yep, rumors are this one was designed by the HTC design team, same as many other Pixel models. Other than that, some of the features are really handy too.
Aw, that's cool.
The one I am using will serve me a few years more depending on my minimal usage, I might think of something then. Good Luck with your one, do make a review of that too.
Let's see, after using this one for a month I'll probably make a first impression post on it. I'm hoping this thing will run a proper 3 years, maybe more.
But it'll surely be tough to beat the HTC's 5 year record.
Obviously, it should go this long.
My Xiaomi with snapdragon 720g is serving me pretty well on my multitaskings, hope to stick with this for a few more years. 😅
We all know how it goes, you can never be too sure when it comes to these electronic devices. So, a bit of fear and doubt is always there you know. 😵
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