Verizon HTC One M9 getting Android 5.1 update August 20th

Verizon HTC One M9 users have been growing tired of waiting for their Android 5.1 update. We have good news for you – it’s finally time for your device to get upgraded, and the manufacturer has decided to hit a few birds with a single stone.

HTC’s own Mo Versi, VP of product management at HTC, took it to Twitter to tell us Verizon finally approved the Lollipop 5.1 update. He goes on to mention the software will be rolling out starting tomorrow, August 20th.

Why did it take them so long? Well, we may understand the issue now. It turns out this update comes with more than just the Android 5.1 software. In addition, HTC has added the Stagefright vulnerability patch and enabled bands 3 & 7 (for roaming).

You have heard about the Stagefright weakness that left about 95% of all Android devices susceptible to MMS attacks, right? It was no joke, so it’s good to see most manufacturers got the ball rolling on those patches right away. Now your HTC One M9 from Verizon is protected, as well!

HTC One (M9) Verizon customers! Received approval for L5.1 which will OTA out tomorrow. Includes Stagefright fix,Band 3 & 7 enabled -roaming

— Mo Versi (@moversi) August 19, 2015

Remember, these updates don’t always show up right away. They are gradually rolled out to all users, so you may not see the notification show up immediately. You could jump into the settings and check for upgrades from time to time, but just try not to smash your screen checking every minute. The update will come!

HTC O2 is apparently the name of HTC’s “Hero” phone, could run a Snapdragon 820

Let’s not beat around the bush: HTC is in some serious trouble. Not even a week ago, the Taiwanese manufacturer cut 15% of its workforce as a cost-saving measure after yet another quarter of loss, a miserable culmination of financial turmoil after the HTC One M9 failed to inspire consumers into buying it. HTC CEO, Cher Wang has already promised to its shareholders that a “Hero” phone is already undergoing development – a complete redesign which will be called the HTC O2. Whether that’s just “O2″ or “O squared” remains to be seen.

The second part of this rumour is that the HTC O2 will be running a Snapdragon 820 processor – this actually helps us place the device’s timeline better as we know the Snapdragon 820 won’t be available till December, meaning that we wouldn’t be seeing the HTC O2 till around the time HTC normally announces a flagship device, i.e. February/March. There will be some similar things about the design of the HTC O2 – for example, it sounds like the device will still have an all-metal body. But given how things have gone for HTC in recent years, they’re likely going to need to make some drastic design changes somewhere.

What do you think about the HTC O2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: MyDrivers via Phone Arena

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HTC is in trouble and it’s going to cut jobs and products to get back in the black

The trials and tribulations of Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer, HTC, are well documented by the media, and after their latest poor financial performance – yet another quarter of losses and predictions for another to follow – it looks like HTC has hit rock bottom: HTC is in trouble. As a result, HTC Chief Financial Officer Chialin Chang has told reporters that jobs will be cut: “The cuts will be across the board. They will be significant,” Chang said.

That’s not the only thing that will be cut; HTC is said to cut its product line-up down to a bare minimum, saying it will focus on high-end devices. While that’s what I thought they said 6 months ago, HTC says they have great market share in places like India, where they command a 20% share in the $250-$400 USD segment. Analysts aren’t buying it (and frankly neither are we) – analysts expect HTC to struggle for at least the next four quarters. “We believe HTC will keep losing share in the smartphone market and will keep losing money,” says Calvin Huang, analyst at SinoPac Securities. it really can’t be helped by the perception that HTC has become unoriginal and confused in the market – this year’s HTC One M9 is pretty much the embodiment of that. We’ll see what the next year or so has in store for the “quietly brilliant” manufacturer.

What do you think about HTC’s situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Reuters via Droid-life

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HTC is struggling and will continue to struggle

HTC delivered its Q2 2015 financial results, and, as expected, there’s nothing to smile about.

The embattled Taiwanese company announced it’s back in the red, with an operating loss of NT$5.1 billion ($161 million) and a net loss of NT$8.0 billion ($252 million) at a revenue of NT$33.0 billion ($1.04 billion). The difference between the operating loss and the net loss is due to “idled assets” related to the production of the One M9. Basically, HTC had to pay for unused production capacity, to the tune of $92 million, following lower than expected demand for its flagship phone.

HTC provided a couple of graphics that really illustrate how deep the quagmire it found itself in is.

HTC revenues over the past 5 quarters

HTC operating profits over the past 5 quarters

Consider that Q2 2015 was the first full quarter of availability for the One M9. It was the time for the M9 to show its mettle and really help HTC return to growth. Instead, the device actually held back the company.

It’s going to get worse before it gets better. HTC estimates revenue of NT$19 billion to NT$22 billion ($600 million to $695 million). Put on graph, that would look like this:

HTC CFO Chialin Chang outlined the three areas the company will focus over the next months on in order to return to profit:

• HTC intends to implement further “company-wide efficiency measures to reduce operating costs across the organization and ensure resources are appropriately allocated to future growth.” We say “further” because cost-cutting is what allowed HTC to remain profitable (even if barely) in previous quarters. It remains to be seen from where will HTC cut costs next. The company already outsourced parts of its manufacturing, though higher-end models are still made in-house.
• HTC said that new devices that are more “trendy” are coming by the end of the year. These devices will “address premium segments” but they won’t be flagships. This sounds a lot like more Desire phones, which HTC has been billing as “premium mid-range.”
• HTC hopes to capitalize on new segments like VR, where it boasts a “first mover advantage.” But VR is still uncharted water, and we’re skeptical it will provide HTC the deliverance it needs.

See also: The biggest 3 challenges facing major Android OEM’s809531

HTC is not, by any means, the only Android OEM that’s suffering right now, but its bout of sickness appears to be the result of a chronic disorder. CFO Chiang said that the measures the company is now taking won’t bear fruit until at least early next year. Expect another grim report in Q3.

HTC pushes Fantastic Four notification ads to its One handsets

We have all probably accepted the need for advertisements to help pay for our favourite free services, but HTC seems to have upset a number of its customers by recently using push notifications for advertising purposes. A number of HTC One M9, M8 and M7 owners are reporting a notification advertisement for the Fantastic Four movie.

Poorly disguised as a new recommended theme for the handset, the advertisement is also plastered with the release date for the film, along with a couple of company logos. What is perhaps most jarring about the advertisement is that it’s up front and center on the display, on a phone that retails with a $600+ price tag already.

Imgur

The advertisement seems to be tied in with HTC’s Sense Home and Blinkfeed technology. Customers using other third party launchers don’t appear to have seen the same notification.

A couple of months ago, HTC already openly announced that it would be bringing advertisements to its software in select countries, but these were supposed to appear alongside regular news feed pieces. This is the first that we have heard of notification based HTC ads.

The US, UK, Germany, Taiwan and China were listed as taking place in the pilot program. At the time, HTC stated that it would be implementation a way for customers to opt out, but there doesn’t appear to be a setting implemented directly to address HTC specific advertisements yet. Some affected users have simply been disabling Sense Home notifications and that seems to do the trick, but it’s far from ideal.

See also: HTC will soon bring advertisements to BlinkFeed in select markets221786

HTC has been struggling to keep its mobile business in the black over the past few years, so the company may see advertising as a way to help boost its disappointing revenue. However, judging by the responses, this may end up putting off existing customers and might hurt the company’s reputation in the longer run.

Have you spotted the ad on your HTC One? Do you think this ad is intrusive or did you just swipe it away and forget about it?

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HTC One M9 receiving Android 5.1 update in EMEA starting tomorrow

Waiting patiently for your HTC One M9 to get Android 5.1 Lollipop? We know it’s hard to be patient, but many of you will soon be blessed with the OTA update. HTC Product and Service Director at HTC EMEA Graham Wheeler just tweeted the upgrade would be coming tomorrow for EMEA HTC One M9 devices. Just in case you are out of the loop on this one, EMEA stands for “Europe,  Middle East and Africa”, so get ready if you are an HTC One M9 user in any of the included markets.

This comes as great news to many of you, as the update is arriving a little late for you. I mean, the Developer Edition got Android 5.1 last month. Even US carrier versions got it before the EMEA editions, with AT&T, T-Moble and Sprint iterations all up to date!

Android 5.1 coming to EMEA HTC One m9 devices tomorrow…enjoy

— graham wheeler (@wheelergd) August 3, 2015

The Android 5.1 update will grant you a healthy list of improvements. Among them are Quick Settings improvements, upgrades to the Contacts app, new animations, system volume tweaks and more. Of course, many of the new features will change depending on your device, but you should all at least see most changes Google baked into Android 5.1 Lollipop.

As it goes with any update, we will likely see this one rolling out periodically. Sit tight if you don’t see your notification right away. And try not to destroy your screen by checking for updates every few seconds! And don’t forget to hit the comments when you get the update – let us know how it’s treating you!