Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

HTC says Samsung is constraining its component supply as a ‘competitive weapon’

Published May 29th, 2013 12:25PM EDT
HTC Samsung Component Supply

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

HTC’s latest flagship Android phone, the HTC One, has been a big success for the struggling smartphone vendor. The company confirmed recently that it had sold approximately 5 million units into sales channels as of last week, and if it hadn’t been for component shortages, HTC likely would have sold even more handsets. Regarding component shortages, it’s not always a production issue that causes problems in HTC’s supply chain and an interesting tidbit emerged earlier this week as HTC president for the North Asian region, Jack Tong, spoke to members of the press in Taiwan.

Just two short years ago, HTC was a leading smartphone vendor. Samsung has since grown to dominate the industry alongside Apple, and the company seemingly isn’t afraid to step on a few toes in order to ensure that it stays on top.

As HTC’s Jack Tong recounted his company’s troubles following the launch of the HTC Desire, he slipped in a pretty huge accusation. Tong said that the Desire initially launched with an AMOLED display supplied by Samsung. After the phone started gaining momentum and sales picked up, the executive says Samsung suddenly couldn’t supply it with panels anymore.

“We found that key component supply can be used as a competitive weapon,” Tong told reporters, according to Focus Taiwan. HTC ended up having to redesign the Desire and relaunch it without the Samsung-built AMOLED displays.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.