It’s no secret that HTC has been having a rough time in the market. It has been bleeding money and market share. Even the launch of the HTC U12+ didn’t do much to change the company’s fortunes. Perhaps it’s thus not surprising to hear that the company might shift upcoming devices to the ODM model, meaning that it won’t make the smartphone itself.
HTC is said to have a mid-range successor to the HTC U12+ in the pipeline. The HTC U12 Life may be launched this fall but HTC might not build the device itself. @LlabTooFeR is someone who has been right with his HTC leaks multiple times in the past, he says that this device will be “ODM manufactured.”
HTC will design the device and then have someone else build the smartphone so it won’t have to use its own manufacturing facilities or employees for the purpose. This method may prove to be more economical for the company which is finding it increasingly difficult to sell its smartphones to customers.
The HTC U12 Life is said to be the only device right now which will shift to the ODM model and if does deliver sizeable cost savings for the company, there’s a chance that the company might start doing this for its other devices as well.