Does it matter who came first? The story of the HTC One A9

In a nutshell, lawsuits between tech giants are not uncommon and Apple isn’t a first-timer in the ring. They’ve butt heads with Samsung before, in a long-drawn-out battle of ping pong, each taking turns to sue each other. When the first leaks of the HTC One A9 came around, we too thought it was an iPhone clone but lets take a look closer at how Apple “innovates”; methods that haven’t settled well with their Taiwanese counterparts, causing one of HTC’s regional chiefs to share his two cents on the subject.

Jack Tong, President of the North Asia had this to say, after the One A9 press event:

“We’re not copying. We made a uni-body metal-clad phone in 2013. It’s Apple that copies us in terms of antenna design on the back.”

A worthy case made by Tong; you’ll see what we mean when you compare the backs of the HTC One M7 and the iPhone 6, which the former came into existence first. At the time of its instillation, the M7 was a device veered for its use of a metal unibody, to the extent that HTC kept the design language three times over – M8 and M9. Similarities between the iPhone 6/6s (since they look the same) and the HTC One A9 may be uncanny but if you take a look at the (earlier released) HTC One M7 and M8 compared to the Apple iPhone 6, yeah its the same thing.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

HTC One M7 pictured on far left

He then adds that:

“The A9 is made thinner and more lightweight than our previous metal-clad phones. This is a change and evolution, and we’re not copying”

All this finger pointing as said earlier, isn’t Apple’s first rodeo when considering the presence it has associated with pioneering in the tech industry – heck they’re even rumoured to be entering the automotive business. When you take a look at the how the Cupertino brand markets themselves, you’ll know that people tend to think that the iDevices were the first smartphone and tablet.

What of the tablets that ran Windows XP, or near field communication (NFC) tech distinctive and finger print sensors native to Japan? Both of which lead the pack way before Apple decided to hitch a ride on the same train. We could go on about what came first but do they get the credit? We feel that limelight stealing in general will continue forever.

A leaked photo has given HTC executives some powerful ammunition to hand down to their underlings:

Whether the market reacts positively or otherwise, we’ll have to wait but HTC is surely embracing all the free advertisement it’s getting. One thing we can be sure of is that the Taiwanese manufacturer will continue to stick to the design on the One A9; as quoted by Tong, it’ll eventually spill over to their top of the line M and Desire models.

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