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HTC is pulling its socks up and doubling production of its flagship HTC One this month. Manufacturing shortages meant the handset was delayed here in the UK, which didn’t help HTC’s profits one bit.
Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, told Focus Taiwan that manufacturing volume for the One will double in May from the month before, and rise again in June to meet “strong demand”, ZDNet reports.
“Our capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May,” Tong said. “We are optimistic about our high-end sales during April and June.”
HTC’s fancy new Ultrapixel camera tech was blamed for the delays. Instead of joining the megapixel arms race, HTC speckled the One with just 4 megapixels, but each is larger than normal to allow in more light, supposedly resulting in better image quality. Exec Benjamin Ho said the camera “was designed specifically for us, and production cannot be ramped up so quickly.”
However, another report claimed the One’s delay was down to HTC losing its status as a ‘tier one’ company, with suppliers shunting it down their list of priorities.
Whatever the reason, the One was delayed on these shores, missing its planned debut date of 15 March, finally finding its way onto shop shelves at the end of April — the same time as the Samsung Galaxy S4. HTC’s profits were at a record low in the first three months of the year — that won’t be down to the One’s delay entirely, but it surely won’t have helped.
Just a few years ago, HTC was flying high on the jet stream of Android, but has since had its wings clipped by the likes of Samsung. Can the Taiwanese company return to its former greatness? Or is the One too little too late? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
