HTC's Working on New Flagship Smartphone Despite Google Deal, Company Clarifies

Google and HTC on Thursday announced a $1.1-billion agreement that will see the former company buying part of latter's smartphone operations. However, HTC has now announced that this agreement does not mean that the company will not be launching smartphones under its own brand from now on. Interestingly, HTC has clarified several queries regarding the company's future with its statement.

In its official statement on the agreement, "This agreement also supports HTC's continued branded smartphone strategy, enabling a more streamlined product portfolio, greater operational efficiency and financial flexibility. HTC will continue to have best-in-class engineering talent, which is currently working on the next flagship phone, following the successful launch of the HTC U11 earlier this year."

This means that HTC will continue with its brand, with at least one more flagship if not beyond. The company's mention of streamlined portfolio clearly indicates that the company will launch select handsets instead of expanding its range further. Considering that the company's U11 flagship smartphone has performed reasonably well, we can expect premium range to remain safe.

Apart from talking about the smartphone business, HTC also touched upon its virtual reality offering and said that it will "continue to build the ecosystem to grow its Vive business, while investing in other next-generation technologies, including the Internet of Things, augmented reality and artificial intelligence."

HTC already has certain smartphones on shelves around the globe and the discontinuation of brand could have resulted in potential dip of sales. This announcement could possibly impart more confidence to the customers who are thinking about purchasing HTC smartphones.