HTC isn't giving up on making smartphones just yet

With HTC reducing the number of smartphones it put out in 2018, and some of its engineering talent moving to Google, there have been whispers that HTC is about to get out of the smartphone game altogether. Not true, according to HTC.

In comments given to DigiTimes, an HTC spokesperson says that the firm is going to "continue strengthening" its smartphone business, with new models scheduled for launch at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. The most recent phone from the company was the blockchain-inspired HTC Exodus 1.

The phone has become "indispensable" to our daily lives, HTC told DigiTimes, and it plans to leverage its virtual reality expertise into developing more exciting mobile tech. 5G is another area HTC wants to invest in, apparently.

Life in HTC yet

You could argue that headsets like the HTC Vive Pro are making a bigger splash than HTC's handsets these days, but it would appear that we haven't seen the last of HTC-branded phones, even as the market gets ever more competitive.

One of the handsets that HTC has confirmed is on the way is as updated version of the HTC U12 Life, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on board. The company also says that "multiple models" of "consumer and enterprise devices" are in the pipeline, so we could see a lot more HTC devices in 2019 than we did in 2018.

We're glad HTC seems committed for the long haul – it means more choice for the consumer, and we've always been impressed with the fit and finish of HTC's handsets, even if they haven't always sold well. Stay tuned to see what else is in store.