While most of the focus on the story so far has been limited to whether or not Asus would consider the acquisition, nobody thought to ask HTC what it thought about the possibility, so the company took things into its own hands. “We strongly deny the news. We didn’t contact AsusTeK and will not consider the acquisition,” the company said in a statement issued today.
“As an international brand, HTC will continue to design world-class innovative smart devices through its pursuit of brilliance brand promise,” the statement continues. The statement is certainly bold, but it shows a level of confidence in the company’s future that many don’t necessarily share.
Things have been tough for HTC recently. The latest model of the HTC One launched earlier this year, but we didn’t find it particularly impressive, and many complained that it was too similar to the previous model. Last week the company dramatically cut its sales estimates for this quarter.
Still HTC has big plans for the future. Earlier this year Cher Wang replaced Peter Chou as company’s CEO, and the firm recently stated that it will “aggressively develop new business opportunities beyond smartphones,” meaning hardware like the upcoming Vive VR headset may not prove to be the exception, but rather the new rule.
Developing new hardware doesn’t mean that HTC is done with phones, however. Last week the company announced that it would be releasing a new phone it calls a “hero product” in October, and given the lukewarm reception the HTC One M9 received, it seems that the company will take bigger strides with the new product.
For the time being it looks like HTC will remain independent, but that could change depending on how well the Vive headset and upcoming phone sell.
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