HTC declares unaudited loss for Q2 2015

HTC has announced a notable financial loss for the second quarter of the year, having released its unaudited results earlier today. The news is not completely unexpected, as HTC has been struggling with poor smartphone sales this year.

The company had been expected to post revenue somewhere in the region of NT$65 billion for the second quarter, but has declared an unaudited revenue of only NT$33.01 billion ($1.07BN) for the quarter ending June 30. This means that HTC will post an operating loss of NT$5.14 billion ($166M) for Q2 2015, plunging the company into a significant quarterly loss.

The second quarter of the year is usually strong for HTC, as it directly follows the launch of its latest flagship smartphone. Such a noticeable loss in this quarter leaves the rest of the year looking pretty miserable for the company.

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Last year, HTC managed to return to minor profit after a number of quarterly losses and had been hoping to continue its recovery throughout 2015. However, its latest flagship One M9 smartphone has suffered severely disappointing sales figures since launch, with one report highlighting that shipments had fallen by some 43 percent compared with the last generation One M8.

HTC seems to have been caught out by improving technologies from high-end players like Samsung and the cut-throat pricing models of mid-range Chinese competitors such as Xiaomi. HTC has stated that it intends to focus on mid-tier products to drive up sales, but this market segment is becoming increasingly busy with companies offering flagship level hardware at very thin profit margins, which is unlikely to help HTC’s position.

The HTC One M9 is a fine handset, but it fails to stand out against the previous generation

Along with a reshuffle at the top of the company, HTC has also recently been looking into new markets with its Vive VR headset and portable RE camera. While these may eventually provide a way for HTC to diversity or transition in the future, they aren’t bringing in the short term revenue that the company needs.

2015 is looking to be another tough year for HTC, and its bulging product portfolio doesn’t appear to be cutting through the competition. Can anyone suggest a remedy?

HTC One M9 Developer Edition receiving OTA update for Android 5.1.1

Fans of HTC’s latest flagship will be pleased to know that Android 5.1 is now rolling out to the Developer Edition of the M9 handset. The file size is approximately 794.32MB in size, so a Wi-Fi connection would be the ideal download method-of-choice. According to the firmware update notification box, this FOTA will bring with it the following changes:

• Android Lollipop 5.1
• Data Performance Improvements
• Call Drop Improvements
• Battery Life Enhancements
• Temperature Management Optimization
• Camera Enhancements

While the camera improvements will no doubt be a welcomed addition, the presence of “Temperature Management Optimization” only furthers the ongoing saga with the Snapdragon 810 CPU. HTC has continued to refine the One M9’s software in an attempt to better manage the heat generated by the powerful mobile chipset, a potential problem that is only exacerbated by the liberal use of metal in the handset’s construction.

For those still on-the fence about the HTC One M9, feel free to peruse any of our various features on the device. For those with the Developer Edition, we encourage you to share your thoughts on the post-update experience and let us know how these changes have (or have not) improved your experience.

Customers prefer the One M9 in “blind tests”, says HTC ad

There’s nothing like a blind trial to remove people’s preconceptions and HTC’s latest video ad campaign suggests that the One M9 is the people’s choice when it comes to selfies, sound and speed, so long as they can’t see the logo.

HTC asked some “strangers” to pick their favourite of two concealed handsets after testing out the front facing camera in low light, listening to music playing through speakers and running through a series of app challenges in the fastest time. Although a rear camera test is sadly absent, perhaps because the handset didn’t fair too well in our own blind camera sample test.

The One M9’s front facing BoomSound speakers performed well in our own review and the larger pixel Ultrapixel front facing camera should certainly outperform some other handsets in low light. It looks like the Snapdragon 810 is performing pretty well in these tests too.

HTC based its speed exercise on another test that pit the HTC One M9 against the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6, but HTC doesn’t actually reveal who it has picked as the competition in its version. Here are the other two videos:

There are also longer versions of each of the tests available to watch on HTC’s Youtube channel, which show much the same thing done over and over again with different passers-by.

While certainly not the most scientific of tests, HTC may have a point about the difference between brand perceptions and reality. Do you think that HTC suffers from a lack of positive brand recognition?

Deal: AT&T HTC One M9 available for $449.99 on eBay

Looking for a good deal on a high-end smartphone? We have a pretty sweet one for you. Popular retailer eBay is currently discounting the AT&T HTC One M9 down to a much more comfortable $449.99 price point. It also includes free economy shipping, which makes for an offer you won’t really find elsewhere else so soon after the phone was released.

Is there a catch? Somewhat. The only caveat is this happens to be a refurbished device. The HTC One M9 unit you would get was either returned or defective, but it was fixed and tested it before going back to the store shelves.

Some of you may be a bit bothered by the idea that someone else had your phone for some time, but it’s really a good way to get devices on a discount. Aside from making sure the device is in good working condition, the seller assures you this product comes with an HTC warranty. It’s also worth noting this is an unlocked device, even if it is optimized for AT&T’s network. It should work pretty well with other carriers.

It’s odd to see such a new device going for a low price like this one. The HTC One M9 was released only some months ago, so this may be testament to how little excitement there is over the HTC One M9. We know the manufacturer could have done much better, and their inability to impress the audience is now resulting in abysmal selling numbers. I mean, this flagship phone’s shipments are 43% lower than they were with its predecessor, the HTC One M8.

Their big mistake may have only been that the HTC One M9 is nearly identical to the M8, though. As a phone, the HTC One M9 continues to be a pretty good device, especially if you are a fan of the manufacturer’s superior build quality and design. It’s specs are also up there with the best of the best.

You can go ahead and read our full review of the HTC One M9 to learn all the details. If it convinces you, just head over to eBay’s HTC One M9 page to sign up for this deal. You may want to hurry, as we are not sure how long this deal will last.

• Buy a refurbished HTC One M9 from eBay

Who is signing up?!