A new high-priced but low-spec 'Android No.1' model is on the market. Is it suspected that consumers will be charged an IQ tax?

Some mobile phone brands are alive in name, but in fact they are dead. Some mobile phone brands are dead, but they still launch new phones every now and then to tell everyone "I'm still alive" - ​​In December 2023, HTC, the former Android king and long-dormant, said that it would release two more phones in 2024. A new machine.

Image source: HTC

Considering that everyone has I don’t remember what HTC phones are, so let’s first review HTC’s “new debut” new phone: HTC U23 Pro has nothing worth mentioning in terms of hardware configuration—the original price of this phone is NT$15,490 (approximately RMB 3532 yuan) mobile phone even uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7Gen1 platform, which is positioned as a sub-flagship in 2022, and a 2MP multi-camera combination. The maximum charging power is only 30W, and the performance is not as good as the wireless fast charging of mainland mobile phone brands.

This kind of mobile phone with outdated configurations launched by an outdated brand should "die immediately upon launch" and flow into the mainland as a "big ship of foreign garbage" for second-hand use half a year later. trading platform. But what is surprising is that HTC, which has already been emptied of its mobile phone team by Google, has not given up on the mobile phone field yet - HTC Senior Vice President of Global Business Huang Zhaoying said:

Although the current mobile phone market is called the "Red Ocean", for HTC, the most important core of mobile phones is "communication". Maybe the design of mobile phones will change in the future, but the need for communication will not disappear. Therefore, HTC will continue to launch mobile phone products and is expected to launch 1-2 (new mobile phones) in 2024.

#Then the question is, the hardware is not even as attractive as the HTC mobile phones of the Sony Xperia series. What is the purpose of "living on" until now?

Why is HTC falling behind?

In my opinion, there are roughly three reasons why HTC is lagging behind: internal confusion, marketing mistakes and declining competitiveness.

In the early days of the brand's development, HTC rose rapidly with high-quality hardware design and pursuit of innovative technology - HTC was one of the first manufacturers to launch Android smartphones , and has won the favor of the market with its products such as HTC Dream. During this period, HTC was known for its boldness in innovation. It launched the world's first 4G smartphone and the first smartphone with an all-metal body design.

#However, with the rapid development of the company, HTC's internal management problems began to appear. Frequent turnover of top management, unclear strategic direction, and confusion in the decision-making process have caused HTC to gradually lose its direction in the market. Internal chaos not only affects product development progress, but also leads to the loss of talent and a decline in innovation capabilities. For example, in early 2018, Google directly acquired HTC’s Pixel team and some technology property rights for US$1.1 billion. This acquisition almost hollowed out HTC’s mobile phone team, and also caused the product strength of HTC’s mobile phones to decline one after another.

Image source: Google

In addition, HTC’s marketing mistakes are also one of the key reasons why it falls behind. Despite its advantages in product design and technological innovation, HTC has failed to effectively translate these advantages into market influence. Compared with the large-scale marketing activities of competitors such as Apple and Samsung, HTC's marketing appears to be relatively low-key and passive, resulting in a continuous decline in the brand's awareness and appeal in the minds of consumers.

# As time goes by, HTC’s competitiveness in the smartphone market gradually declines. On the one hand, its product line lacks a clear differentiation strategy and cannot effectively cope with the dominance of Apple and Samsung in the high-end market; on the other hand, in the mid- to low-end market, HTC also faces fierce competition from mainland brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi. . These brands quickly occupied the market with their cost-effective products, while HTC struggled to compete with them in terms of price and performance.

The high-end stack cannot support the configuration, and the low-end cannot bring down the price

It stands to reason that when the product has fallen behind, If mobile phone brands want to revitalize their brands, they must differentiate themselves from other products on the market, either by using the strongest configuration to build a true flagship phone and return to the first echelon; or by using low prices to compete with other brands. And began brand transformation.

But in this multiple-choice question of "high-end or low-end", HTC resolutely chose "or" - its high-end mobile phones cannot compete with competitors in terms of configuration. It is difficult to compete with low-end products in terms of price. In the high-end smartphone market, consumers expect more than simply stacking materials. Product experience is equally important. Although HTC strives to launch high-end products, it often cannot compare with the first-tier flagship phones in terms of camera performance, performance scheduling, battery life, and screen technology.

Image source: HTC

In the low-end market, HTC, which is already unable to make ends meet, cannot engage in a price war with other brands. Around 2018, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo are rapidly occupying the domestic entry-level mobile phone and overseas mid-range mobile phone markets through cost-effective strategies.

But HTC faces difficulties in cost control and brand positioning when trying to lower product prices to attract the low-end market. Price cuts mean shrinking profit margins, which is a big challenge for a company like HTC. Moreover, launching low-end mobile phones also consumes HTC's research and development costs. Indulging in launching mid-to-low-end mobile phones that no one cares about will only further consume HTC's brand influence and make HTC's mobile phone business "slowly die out."

Of course, judging from HTC’s market trends in recent years, mobile phones have long been irrelevant to HTC. VR devices such as VIVE are the core of HTC’s future brand. But can VR save HTC?

Is VR the last straw?

In October 2023, CCS Insight made a prediction in a report-due to market uncertainty, HTC will sell its VR business and exit in 2026 VR market. The news quickly aroused widespread attention and discussion. HTC may no longer be the smartphone overlord of the past, but it is at least the pioneer of VR headsets. It could even be said to be the leader of the VR market at one time.

Of course, HTC soon issued a stern statement denying rumors of withdrawing from the VR market in 2026. In the statement, HTC also said that VR virtual reality, AR augmented reality and AI artificial intelligence technology will be the three pillars of future technology. "These technologies will not only combine with human nature, but also release human beings' infinite imagination, thus completely changing our world." The world."

#In other words, the market potential is so huge that HTC will never give up. Besides, HTC, which has "lost everything" in the mobile phone industry, only has VR as an "opportunity card" in its hands. However, HTC, which once dominated the VR field with VIVE, was also surrounded by mainland VR companies, and its sales continued to decline. Is VR the life-saving straw for the drowning HTC or the straw that "breaks the camel's back"? At present, it seems more like the latter.

Picture source: HTC

And insist on high-end VR split machine HTC has long missed the early dividends of wireless all-in-one VR headsets. The new generation of consumer VR headset users prefer Quets, PS VR and even the unreleased Apple Vision Pro instead of the split-design VIVE. . Even though VIVE has launched all-in-one VR machines such as VIVE Focus, HTC's technical capabilities are indeed somewhat inferior in the field of multi-degree-of-freedom spatial positioning and cannot compete with all-in-one VR equipment that has accumulated many years of experience.

On one side are HTC mobile phones that will definitely not be sold, and on the other side are HTC VR headsets that will probably not be sold in the future. Judging from this dilemma, "Glory "Quiting" and returning to behind-the-scenes manufacturing may be HTC's final destination.

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