With most Android flagships sharing similar hardware specs, one of the ways Android handset makers differentiate themselves from the competition is by using software. HTC, just like all the other handset makers, has employed this strategy, one of which is through its Mail app which comes bundled with its phones.
However according to a report from Android Police, for some reason the app, which managed to rack up millions of installs, has mysteriously vanished from the Google Play Store. The app was last updated on December 2018 which is fairly recent, so it’s not as if this was an app that was sitting stagnant for years.
For those unfamiliar, the HTC Mail app is an email app that supports multiple services, meaning that if you have a Gmail and a Yahoo email, you could consolidate those accounts under a single app. However Android Police speculates that since other email apps already support multiple services, including Gmail which supports non-Gmail accounts, perhaps HTC has decided to retire the app over maintaining it which costs them time and resources.
However the sudden disappearance is rather strange, but HTC has yet to officially comment on it. In any case it also appears that despite the app disappearing, the app is still being preinstalled on the company’s more recent handsets, thus adding to the mystery.