1997–2001: OEM Assembler of Laptops and PDAs
HTC was founded in May 1997 as a contract manufacturer of laptops. Laptops brought no success, and the company switched to handheld computers. In 1998 HTC became one of Microsoft's first partners on Windows CE: it built the Compaq iPAQ (2000), one of the best-known PDAs of the era, as well as devices for HP, Dell and Palm (the Treo 650 was manufactured by HTC).
2002–2006: Windows Mobile and White Labels
In 2002 HTC released its first communicator on Windows Mobile, the O2 XDA (HTC codename Wallaby). The devices were sold under the brands of carriers and distributors: O2 XDA, T-Mobile MDA, Orange SPV, Vodafone VPA, i-mate, Qtek and Dopod (Asia). HTC became the world's largest maker of Windows Mobile devices, with up to 80% of the market. See The Windows Mobile Era (2002–2010).
In 2006 HTC announced its move to its own brand: the first phones with the HTC logo were the HTC TyTN and HTC P3300, followed in 2007 by the HTC Touch with the TouchFLO interface, released a month before the iPhone.
2007–2010: Android and Its Own Brand
HTC became a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance (November 2007). On October 22, 2008, the T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream), the world's first Android smartphone, was released. It was followed by the HTC Magic (2009), HTC Hero (2009, the first with the HTC Sense interface), the Nexus One (January 2010, Google's first phone), HTC Desire, HTC EVO 4G (the first WiMAX smartphone in the US) and HTC Droid Incredible. In parallel the HTC HD2, the last great Windows Mobile device, was released. See Early Android (2008–2011).
2011: The Peak
In 2011 HTC overtook Nokia in market capitalization (April), sold about 43 million phones, and reached revenue of NT$465.8 billion and profit of NT$62 billion. Its share of the US smartphone market in Q2 2011 was about 24%, first place. The company bought 51% of Beats Electronics for $300 million (August 2011) and bought S3 Graphics for $300 million for its patents. The "Quietly Brilliant" campaign. Flagships: the Sensation, EVO 3D, Thunderbolt and Rezound.
2012–2014: HTC One and the Decline
An overly broad lineup (20+ models a year), pressure from Samsung and Apple, weak marketing and lost patent disputes with Apple (a US import ban in 2012) crushed sales. HTC simplified its lineup: the HTC One X (2012) and then the iconic all-metal HTC One (M7) (2013) with BoomSound and the UltraPixel camera. The M7 was named "best smartphone of 2013" at MWC, but sales fell: the first quarterly loss came in Q3 2013. Beats was bought back in 2013. The HTC One (M8) (2014), with its Duo Camera, was the last truly mass-market flagship.
2015–2016: The M9 Flop and the Birth of Vive
The HTC One M9 (2015), with an overheating Snapdragon 810 and a 20 MP camera, flopped. In March 2015 Peter Chou stepped down as CEO and Cher Wang took over the company. On March 1, 2015 at MWC, HTC and Valve introduced the HTC Vive, which went on sale on April 5, 2016 at $799. The HTC 10 (2016) got excellent reviews, but sales did not recover. HTC built the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones for Google (2016).
2017–2019: The Google Deal and the U Series
May 2017 brought the HTC U11 with Edge Sense (squeezable edges), and in September 2017 came the agreement with Google: for $1.1 billion Google took about 2,000 engineers from the Pixel development unit plus a non-exclusive patent license (closed January 30, 2018). See The Google Deal (2017). 2018 saw the U12+, Vive Pro, Vive Focus and the blockchain smartphone Exodus 1. Revenue for 2018 fell by 62%, and the company cut 1,500 employees in Taiwan. 2019 brought CEO Yves Maitre, the Vive Cosmos and the last flagship, the U19e.
2020–2023: VR, 5G and the Metaverse
The pandemic spurred VR: the Vive Cosmos Elite, Vive Focus 3 (2021, business), Vive Flow (2021, "VR glasses") and Vive XR Elite (2023). VIVERSE (2022) and G REIGNS (private 5G) were launched. Smartphones: the Desire 20 Pro, Desire 21 Pro 5G, Desire 22 Pro (with VIVERSE integration) and U23 pro (2023). The HTC Vive Tracker and Vive Wrist Tracker became the industry standard for full-body tracking.
2024–2026: A Niche Company
The HTC U24 pro (2024), Desire 24 pro and Vive Focus Vision (2024). In 2024 Google bought part of HTC's XR engineering team for $250 million (closing in January 2025). HTC is profitable only occasionally, living mainly on VIVE for enterprises, VIVERSE and 5G. Headcount is about 2,000, against 19,000 in 2011.