I’ve been talking about HTC a lot lately. When I saw the news that their latest marketing venture talked about how obsessed they were with the M10 (in a good way), followed by the device's hashtag of #powerof10, I nodded my head and agreed that I, too, am obsessed with the M10 lately. The tension of waiting for the M10 is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Not only do we have to wait for an undisclosed amount of time for its unveiling (although the event is tipped to be held on April 11) but HTC hasn’t been shy in playing up the hype train as of late.
Ultimately, the M10’s release can end in only two ways: either the phone is an utter flop because the hype was too strong and the wait was too long, or the phone ends up being the boost that HTC needs right now.
We’ve seen what too much hype can do to a phone’s release. The best recent example I can come up with is the first generation Moto X. Between Google acquiring Motorola and giving the brand new life, rumors spun out of control for months about how awesome the mysterious “X” phone would be. However, when the phone was finally official, it wasn’t so remarkable after all. The phone had a few key features that made it unique, but ultimately I think the hype is what made the phone such a big disappointment.
On the other hand, in HTC’s case it feels like they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Of course they’re going to say that their camera is the bee’s knees and that they’re obsessed with the device, working day and night because they want to rather than because they have to – what would they say otherwise? Even if they had decided to just lay low and keep the whole thing under wraps, the risk of losing potential customers would be too great. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 have already eclipsed the M10 in many ways, but there are also a good deal of people who are hoping that the M10 will be worth the wait.
If nothing else, HTC’s hype at least brings hope, and sometimes hope is all a person needs.
If it weren’t for the teasers that were released so often, I would have already given up hope on the M10. The competition this year is already tough. The LG G5 really raised the bar in terms of innovation and the Galaxy S7 features the fine-tuning needed to make a great successor to last year’s radically revamped Galaxy S6. However, it is important to note that the Galaxy S7 is still in pre-order stage and isn’t set to officially release until March 11, and the LG G5 won’t begin pre-orders until March 18 and is set to release sometime in April. In the past, HTC has made announcement and release happen in the same day with the HTC One M8 and M9. If HTC does the same thing again this year, it might not be too hard for HTC to catch up.
It’s impossible to tell whether the M10 will be a success or a flop, but HTC’s hype seems to be working in HTC’s favor. Let’s just hope that there’s truth to the hype; anything otherwise means the situation will rapidly go downhill.
Readers, what are your thoughts on HTC’s hype for the M10? Are the teasers holding your interest, or have you already decided on another device? Let us know in the comments below!