HTC has denied claims that its new flagship One A9 smartphone is a copy of the iPhone.
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HTC North Asia President Jack Tong stated at the press briefing during the HTC One A9 launch in Taiwan that the unibody metal-clad phone was made by HTC in 2013, according to Want China Times.
HTC is today being accused by a few corners of blatantly ripping off Apple’s design and then dangling a cheaper price tag just to curb its steep fall, especially in the US. The HTC One M7 enabled the ecosystem in terms of the design breakthrough in radio signals for a metal-clad phone, Tong said. “(We’re) unveiling a phone that stands apart in a market increasingly dominated by a company which controls every aspect of your phone”, HTC’s CEO Cher Wang said in a statement. We’ll have to see whether Apple agrees, and whether consumers will choose to buy an Android 6.0 device that looks like an iPhone rather than heading straight for the iPhone. Also, there’s the protruding camera, alongside a round LED flash. However, the company’s senior executive strongly defends that it isn’t HTC which has copied the design and in fact, it is Apple who borrows the idea from the Taiwanese company. “This is a change and evolution, and we’re not copying”. [It] is available in a range of colors, including Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Deep Garnet and Topaz Gold, for $399 unlocked. On Twitter, Mackenzie has called those who claim it’s HTC copying Apple, “history revisionists”.
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The One A9 features the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core 64-bit processor, a 5-inch full-HD AMOLED screen, and a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical Image Stabilization (OIS), which automatically minimizes hand-shake and corrects vibrations. However, when “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” seems to be the official word on the HTC One A9’s controversial design, it may not stay that way for long. When it talked about building a “more fashionable phone” in August, it just meant emulating the most fashionable phone out there.
