Can HTC U12 With Snapdragon 845 Help Save Company’s Revenues?

Taiwanese consumer electronics company HTC has recorded another monthly revenue drop, leading to a 13-year low record. However, the company is still hopeful that the release of its upcoming U12 flagship smartphone could help boost its financials.

DigiTimes learned Wednesday that HTC has seen its revenues drop 23.24 percent on month in February, which translates to a 44.04 percent drop compared to February 2017. Last month, the company made $89.3 million, which is lower than January 2018’s $109.83 million and much lower than February 2017’s $128.59 million.

Sources say HTC could expect its revenues to drop until March, but things could change in April. This is because the company is scheduled to launch its new flagship, the HTC U12 that’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845, in April. The new handset is seen as a ray of hope amid the disappointing performance of HTC’s smartphone business.

However, Phone Arena believes the 13-year low was actually inevitable given the limited availability of HTC’s U11+ smartphone that did not come to a few important markets including the U.S. The handset’s absence in some markets is believed to be the primary reason of HTC’s low sales last month.

There’s still no solid information on the availability of the upcoming U12 handset, but it’s possible that HTC will be changing its approach to selling its phones once again. The U12 is after all a high-end device that could easily attract a lot of consumers.

Aside from packing the Snapdragon 845, the HTC U12 is also making headlines for its 5.99-inch all-screen display, its dual-lens primary camera system that comes with 16-megapixel and 12-megapixel lenses, HTC’s Edge Sense 2.0 touch-enabled bezel frames, as well as facial recognition technology.

XDA Developers has also discovered other specs and features of the HTC U12 from leakers. Per the tech news site, the handset could have 6GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The phone is also expected to feature an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, a 3420 mAh battery, IP68 certification and a fingerprint scanner on the back. The device is also rumored to come with matte white glass backs.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that even though HTC’s smartphone business is struggling, the company’s VR business is still doing well. The sale of its VR devices remained steady in February, so it’s not surprising why HTC is also preparing to launch high-end Vive Pro HMD VR devices this coming April. Should HTC’s smartphone business continue to struggle though, it’s possible for the company to just focus on its VR business in the future. In fact, it has already sold a major portion of its mobile division to Google.