LONDON: HTC’s high-end One M9 smartphone doesn’t offer advanced enough new features to generate fame like that of the M8, analysts say.
The device codenamed Hima would show for the first time next month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It’s supposed to run on a Qualcomm QCOM +0.58% Snapdragon 805 or 810 processor. Either way, that’s faster than the M8. The M9 may also add to its predecessor’s memory and 16 to 32 gigabytes of storage, according to reports in the tech media. The screen size might be bigger than the M8’s five inches or the whole handset thinner. Fans see buzz also about plus version, to borrow Apple AAPL +0.1%’s term for its out-sized iPhone 6. HTC’s headquarters outside Taipei says it can’t comment on “unreleased products.”
If the device comes out first with the 810 processor, HTC could surge on early demand – until rivals quickly follow. “Assuming the 810 has no issue, consumers will put a lot of attention on that,” says Avril Wu, senior manager with market research firm TrendForce in Taipei. Otherwise, the handset will just blend in to an increasingly crowded market of look-alike devices struggling to offer fastest, lightest and other superlatives. “I really don’t think any brand can be too special at this point,” Wu says.
Since HTC began slipping from its peak world smartphone market share of 10.7% to less than 4% now, it has hoped that every new high-end device would revitalize its ranking. But if HTC plans to win share based on gee-whiz technology alone, the M9 in its shadowy form as reported in the tech media doesn’t have enough new stuff to stand out against the M8 or competing other-brand models. “We expect the new M9 smartphone to be an evolution, not revolution, for HTC,” says Neil Mawston, global wireless practice executive director at Strategy Analytics in the United Kingdom. “The design, display, camera, materials and processor will be slightly improved, but there are unlikely to be any major wow factors.”
Marketing whizzes at Samsung are expected to keep their brand in the top spot for nearly-the-same smartphones using Google’s Android operating system, also HTC’s mainstay, while most other world business goes to a slate of Chinese developers. Until HTC can make money on other products, such as tablets and wearables, it’s advised to pair the M9 with speedy, super-sized marketing or risk another mass-market dud. The company has learned a lot about pushing its brand since 2013 and powered up its search for sales channels in the obviously large markets of China and the United States. “As we’ve talked about many times before, they should improve on marketing and relations with sales points,” says C.K. Lu, market research firm Gartner’s smartphone analyst in Taipei.
