Phone maker HTC is allegedly gearing up for a relaunch in October with the release of a new handset called "Hero." Meanwhile, the company is also rumored to be looking into boosting its flagship product for 2015, the HTC One M9 handset, with an upgrade, Techno Buffalo has learned.
According to the report, the One M9 may be getting chipset improvements to counteract the negative feedback the current capacity of its Snapdragon 810 processor is getting from buyers. The said processor, developed by Qualcomm, has had heating problems, but it's not the sole reason for the lack of sales. The handset itself is generally not flying off the shelves.
Snapdragon 810 may be replaced with a MediaTek chip or a processor that can make One M9 cheaper but better, in order to boost sales, the news outlet reported. The specs for the improved handset, however, has yet to be revealed.
According to Android Headlines, HTC may also opt to use the new Helio X20 chip for its latest handset, which is supposed to be released in October. The Helio X20 is more powerful than the current chipset as it runs as a deca-core processor, compared to Snapdragon's eight-core power.
Rumors also suggest that the improved handset may have the same specifications as the flagship set. Currently, the One M9 boasts of a 5.0-inch 1080 (1920 x 1080) display, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable internal storage. It also has a 20-megapixel camera featured at the back of the unit and a 4-megapixel UltraPixel front camera. The light metal device is already installed with Android 5.0 Lollipop and it is 4G LTE ready as well. Battery is at 2,840mAh.
Meanwhile, the company's woes are far from over as TechCrunch has reported that stock trading for HTC has reduced its value to be without worth. Troubles regarding the phone's biometrics feature, which can be easily accessed by hackers, are also turning off possible sales.
According to analysts, HTC CFO and president of global sales, Chialin Changthe, the Taiwanese firm may be pushed to cut down on cost further or come up with more attractive versions of products.
Tech Crunch also noted that HTC may opt to channel its resources in other businesses other than smartphones, such as its Vive headsets and software units.
HTC started selling phones in 2006 and geared towards the mid-range market, leaving Apple and Samsung to cater to luxury phone buyers. However, the company has since been competing with other phone manufacturers like Huawei and Xiaomi, which has been offering more affordable and functional mid-range phones.
