There was a time, not so long ago, when having an HTC phone meant you were in the big leagues. It was that ultimate 'flex' phone and if you didn't have one, you probably had it on your wishlist. The Taiwanese brand wasn't just another smartphone company; it was the pioneer that kick-started the Android revolution.

The Golden Era of 'Firsts'

So, it all started with the launch of the HTC Dream (also known as the T-Mobile G1) in 2008, the world’s first commercially available Android phone(I wonder if many people even remember this fact).

Well, it wasn't just a phone; it basically was the kickstart to a revolution. HTC was a complete innovation powerhouse who consistently delivered features that made the competition look ancient.

Remember the HTC One (M7)? That beautiful slab of aluminium made every plastic phone of its time look like a sasta khilona. You could actually feel the craftsmanship.

And then there was BoomSound, those dual front-facing speakers that turned your phone into a mini theatre. Watching a movie or listening to music on an HTC wasn’t just convenient, it felt premium, like you were carrying surround sound in your pocket.

And with no surprise, by 2011, HTC became the third-largest smartphone brand by market share globally, just behind the giants like Apple and Samsung.

Their command over hardware was so strong that even Google bet them to manufacture the very first Google Pixel phones(back then, they were known as Google Nexus).

The slow fade of a legend

On the premium side, HTC had to face some pretty brutal competition. Apple’s flawless ecosystem was untouchable, and Samsung was dropping feature-packed Galaxy flagships faster than you could say “software update.” HTC’s hardware was top-tier, no doubt, but things started to fall apart where it mattered most.

Their cameras were inconsistent, and the marketing… well, let’s just say it left everyone scratching their heads. They even a peak Robert Downey Jr. and did a massive campaign around him that cost $1 billion.

It was supposed to make HTC a household name, but instead, it just confused everyone.

When China crashed the party

Then came the real jhatka, straight from the East. Chinese brands like Xiaomi stormed in with ultra-aggressive pricing.

Suddenly, people could get phones with almost the same specs as HTC’s at half the price.

Why would anyone drop a bomb on a mid-range premium phone when a sasta-sundar-tikau (cheap, beautiful, durable) option was right there?

HTC, still holding on to its “premium” tag, just couldn’t survive the price war. Their strategy felt stuck, their lineup got confusing, and their brand messaging didn’t keep up with the times.

The final blow

The mix of poor marketing, unclear product strategy, and cutthroat competition hit hard. Year after year, HTC’s numbers kept dipping. And by 2017, the final chapter pretty much wrote itself. Google swooped in and acquired a huge chunk of HTC’s smartphone design and R&D division for over a billion dollars.

The new HTC era

Today, HTC isn’t dead, just different. They’ve shifted gears to focus on Virtual Reality, with the HTC Vive leading the charge. It’s a solid move, but miles away from their glory days in the smartphone market.

Still, the rise and fall of HTC remains one of the most fascinating stories in tech. It’s a reminder that in the smartphone duniya, being first isn’t enough; you’ve got to keep up, evolve, and fight back when the game changes.

New Delhi's monkey whisperers