If the one thing holding you back from buying the HTC U12+ is the color, rejoice: the striking Flame Red U12+ is now up for order in North America. Revealed alongside the Android smartphone back in May, the distinctive red finish has until now only been available in international markets.
According to a tip this afternoon, Nokia is about to go - or has already gone - the way of Nokia in the smartphone business. The tip suggests that HTC might begin using ODM for smartphone manufacturing. That'd mean that HTC would continue to be the brand, and HTC would continue to design phones, but HTC wouldn't be manufacturing the phones themselves.
It’s that time of year again. New Android version, new guessing and then waiting game for which phones will get the update and, just as importantly, when. Things have gotten better over the years, in no small part thanks to high-profile security scares and Apple gloating, but it’s far from being ideal. Ideally, that would be when lists like this will be superfluous. But until that glorious day, here are some of the smartphone makers who have gone public about their love for Pie and those that have been unsurprisingly yet annoyingly silent for the past weeks.
Every new Android version kicks off two guessing games. The first is at the start of the development cycle when users try to guess which sweet dessert the release will be named after. The second is when the final version is finally formally launched. That’s when users start guessing when and if their precious smartphone is actually eligible for the update. To help make their customers guess less, some manufacturers have chimed in, publicly committing to bringing Android 9 Pie to at least some of their latest devices “soon”.
Both HTC and LG have been reported to be eying only one flagship this year but only one of them has so far proven that to be true. The HTC U12+ has no rival among the company’s own ranks but that doesn’t mean HTC won’t try to have other variants of that. Indeed, as per its usual practice, it seems to be ready to reveal a mid-range version of its 2018 champion, the HTC U12 Life. But while it’s undoubtedly a step up from last year’s HTC U11 Life, the question is always whether it’s enough.
The current big challenge for virtual reality technology is to work in large rooms. The next dream for the future, however, is likely to be multi-room experiences, where users can wander between rooms or other connected spaces without issue. This is probably still a couple of years away, but HTC has shown off a small example of how it could work, with a demonstration featuring a Vive Pro, multiple base stations, and a beta of SteamVR 2.0.
HTC is pressing on with its blockchain-based phone, codenamed Exodus. First revealed earlier in 2018, we now know that the phone will be launching in "early access" later this year. That, unfortunately, is about the only new thing we're learning today, so a lot of important details about the phone are still a mystery.
HTC has had its worst sales slump in over two years, with mediocre demand seeing June 2018 sales drop by more than 67-percent year on year. The announcement of a particularly dire month came just a week after HTC confirmed it would cut close to a quarter of its employees worldwide.
![Why HTC smartphones continue to fail [UPDATE]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/htc-one-m9-review-sg-14-1.jpg)
HTC is getting smaller and smaller every year. That’s true not just for its bottom line but its workforce as well. Every year it puts out smartphones that receive glowing reviews and high customer ratings. And every year it also fails to break even. Why has HTC, the first smartphone maker to believe in Android, have had such rotten luck in the market it once dominated? Sadly, there is no single answer but is, instead, a series of unfortunate events.
For quite some time now, HTC has been struggling when it comes to making money. Its quest for profitability has seen some big shake-ups, from laying off workers to even selling off a large portion of its smartphone design team to Google. Today we're learning that the layoffs aren't over just yet, as HTC is preparing to make some big cuts at its Taiwanese manufacturing division.
Like it or not, phones this days are almost designed not to last, which ultimately makes more money for manufacturers in the long run. Of course, users will cling to their expensive smartphones as long as they can, so durability is still an important factor. Last year’s HTC U11 was rated by JerryRigEverything as a complete and utter failure. And while this year’s HTC U12+ does address that critical flaw, it seems to have opened up a whole different can of worms instead.
The year is half over and we’ve mostly seen all that year has to offer as far as smartphones go. Except, of course, for Apple new iPhones and Samsung’s last hurrah for the year. We already took a look at the premium phones that landed in the market in the first few months of the year and was admittedly at a loss for which one came out at the top. This quarter has its own roster with seemingly interesting personalities. Will a winner finally stand out? Let’s take a look.