Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Low demand for the One M9 is to blame for HTC’s depressing April

Malarie Gokey
By

HTC One M9 home
Ben Nelson/Digital Trends
HTC went head-to-head with Samsung this year, launching its new flagship, the One M9, at the exact same time as its Korean competitor. HTC came away from the duel much more worse for wear than expected, as the Galaxy S6 turned heads and triumphed with high sales right after launch. Now, HTC has released its financial report for April, and it’s the bleakest news the Taiwanese company has had in six years.

“Revenue for last month was weaker than expected, which was due to poor M9 demand.”

Recommended Videos

HTC posted NT$13.5 billion ($440 million) in revenue for April, which is a huge 33 percent decrease from March. The figure was also a whopping 39 percent lower than the revenue HTC posted during the same period last year. To make matters worse, this is the lowest monthly revenue for April that HTC has reported since 2009, when it made NT$11.4 billion.

Related

HTC’s One M9 flagship, which was supposed to raise the company’s fortunes and increase revenue substantially in 2015, wasn’t even on sale in March, and yet HTC managed to post higher revenue without its flagship on store shelves. Many analysts cited the One M9’s failure to appeal to customers as the prime reason for April’s low revenue.

“Revenue for last month was weaker than expected, which was due to poor M9 demand,” an anonymous Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co. analyst told the Taipei Times. “HTC might have underestimated the Qualcomm [Snapdragon] 810 processor’s thermal issue, and this has resulted in poor reviews and concern from carriers.”

Indeed, in our review of the One M9, we noted a marked heat increase during heavy-duty processing tasks, video streaming, and app downloading. The battery life also suffered dramatically, and we came away disappointed by the device on the whole. Although it’s hardly conclusive evidence, the fact that LG opted to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor in its G4 instead of the 810 seems to indicate that the overheating issue is very real and troublesome.

Additionally, shortly after HTC introduced the M9, it also showed off the M9+ for China and other markets. The M9+ sports more high-end specs and looks to be more appealing than the standard M9 that made its way stateside. While the launch of that model may help HTC’s sales increase, it seems that the original One M9 is something of a failure at this point.

Analysts appear to be pessimistic about HTC’s chances to win over customers in 2015, regardless of the other models the company releases this year. BNP Paribas predicts that HTC will ship just 18 million smartphone units in 2015, which is a decline of 13 percent compared with 2014’s figures.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Malarie Gokey
Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
OnePlus 9 vs OnePlus 8: Should you spend extra cash?
oneplus 9 vs 8 and

The OnePlus 9 represents a few changes for OnePlus. For starters, it's among the most expensive OnePlus phones ever to be released. It also represents the beginning of OnePlus' partnership with Hasselblad, with the goal of that partnership being a OnePlus camera that can truly compete with the best phones out there.

But just how much of a leap forward is the OnePlus 9? Last year's OnePlus 8 was hailed for its solid display and excellent software experience. Is the OnePlus 9 really that much of a leap forward? I've extensively used both devices and put them head to head.
Design and display
The OnePlus 9 offers a pretty different design from the OnePlus 8, and while it's ultimately down to personal preference as to which look you prefer, the OnePlus 9 does seem to look a little more modern than the OnePlus 8. There are a few reasons for this, like the rectangular camera module on the back instead of the vertically aligned one, and the flat display on the front, in place of the curved one on the OnePlus 8.

Read more
OnePlus 9 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21: A clear winner
oneplus 9 vs samsung galaxy s21 2

Phone companies have been getting hip to the fact that not everyone wants to spend $1,000 on a phone, but those who spend $800 should still be able to get a flagship experience. After all, $800 is a ton of cash. For instance, while the Galaxy S20 started at $1,000, the Galaxy S21 cuts the cost down to $800.

Of course, OnePlus has been playing in that space for years. While its phones have been getting increasingly expensive, the new OnePlus 9 still costs just $730, which is only a little less than the Galaxy S21 -- in fact, it's around the same price when you factor in the Galaxy S21's routine discounts.

Read more
OnePlus 9 vs. OnePlus 9 Pro: Save yourself some money
oneplus 9 vs pro and 2

After months of leaks, both unofficial and from the company itself, OnePlus has finally launched the OnePlus 9 series. Consisting of the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, the phones are among the most expensive the company has released. That's especially true of the new OnePlus 9 Pro, which costs $970, which puts it in competition with the iPhone 12 Pro and, when it's on sale, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

But perhaps you're a OnePlus fan through and through, in which case you're probably deciding between the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. I've used both phones. Here are my thoughts.
Design and display
The first, and most immediately noticeable difference between these two phones is their design, and the contrast highlights what OnePlus thinks makes for a premium phone. For example, the OnePlus 9 has a flat display, while the OnePlus 9 Pro has a curved one. That's in contrast to the OnePlus 8 series, where both the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro had curved screens.

Read more