Last updated on July 23, 2020
The HTC First is the first device sold with Facebook Home as the default UI. Normally, when a manufacturer is selected to produce something, it’s called a “design win,” but I wonder how much, if at all, HTC wins by having the First in its portfolio.
The First has been announced just as the HTC One — by far, the most sophisticated phone HTC has ever produced — is coming to market. Unlike when HTC released the One X, there is no lower-end compement (the One V), at least for now, so all the eggs for HTC’s user experience will be in the One basket. HTC will be promoting its flagship via a multi-city tour that will let consumers wrap their hands around the phone’s exceptional design and hear its BoomSound audio system.
And yet, the First seems to be the antithesis of everything HTC is trying to create with the One. It lacks the One’s design, its audio improvements, and of course the refocusing of Sense on Blinkfeed, which is something of a competitor to Facebook Home. In fact, there is almost nothing distinguishing about the First except that it runs a launcher environment that will be available on other phones.
It just gets difficult to reconcile HTC taking ownership of its future with devices like the One as it hearkens back to its origins as a contract manufacturer with something like the First. Perhaps HTC was compensated adequately for its rule in the First’s rollout, but at some point it will be time to pass the baton for things like this to Huaweii or ZTE.