HTC is facing yet another setback with the sluggish sales of its flagship phone in China, told Taiwanese media.
The HTC 10 has only recorded 251 sold units since becoming available for pre-order on TMall and Jingdong Mall on April 25, according to Focus Taiwan.
The Taiwanese news channel said that buyers are "irritated" by HTC's move to use lower-grade specs for the HTC 10 model released in China. Citing unnamed market sources, the news website noted that the flagship phone available for Chinese consumers is different from that in Western markets.
"According to market sources, the version of the HTC 10 available in the China market uses only a mid-tier processor--Qualcomm's Snapdragon 652--instead of the Snapdragon 820 chip, as part of HTC's lower pricing strategy for that market," said Focus Taiwan.
Pre-order for the HTC was available until May 8.
Android Authority's Matthew Benson, on the other hand, warned that those figures released by Focus Taiwan should be taken with a grain of salt for three reasons.
"[I]t is important to consider several aspects, namely that (1) the report involves just two online storefronts and only pre-orders at that, and (2) the hardware is different from what the majority of the world will receive and (3) the data is from April 25th making it over a week old."
Meanwhile, a rumored spin-off of HTC's VR business is said to be adding to the company's woes.
Focus Taiwan in a separate report said that the multinational manufacturer "has set up a company in preparation for development of new technology."
The new firm will reportedly house HTC's VR business. "The smartphone vendor is planning to spin off the new company in the future," said the Taiwanese news website.
When spun off, the new firm will be headed by HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang.