HTC One M8 Release Date: Flagship Phone Launched, Hardware Design Head Set To Leave The Company
HTC One M8 Release Date: Scott Croyle, HTC's design head who is responsible for the stellar design of HTC's One smartphone including the HTC One M8 is leaving the Taiwanese company. Croyle led HTC's industrial design and user experience teams since his One & Co studio was acquired in 2008; Croyle is now leaving to work on his own projects according to The Verge. The company describes the move as a "long-term transition" where he will remain involved with HTC product development in a consultancy role for a few months to come.
HTC spokesman told The Verge, "HTC remains at the forefront of smartphone innovation. Scott Croyle will be focusing on special projects and dedicated on next generation developments."
Croyle will occupy this transitional role. Jonah Becker, his second-in-command, is likely to take over most of his duties and step up to lead HTC's San Francisco studio. In a potentially related move, Drew Bamford has been promoted from overseeing the Sense user experience to being in charge of all HTC software and services. The company plans to simplify its internal structure by consolidating its user experience team much in the same that it did with its industrial design and engineering group.
"HTC continues to invest in talent and recruitment as part of our broader human resources strategy to ensure the continued strength of our company's organizational structure. To achieve our long-term goals as a business and return maximum value to our shareholders, these are necessary steps to drive ongoing innovation, ensure our ability to create strong products like the HTC One (M8), and forge strong customer relationships that solidify our future.
Drew Bamford is experienced and talented leader at HTC with solid track records in leading and building our user experience team. Effective immediately, in addition to his current duties in product development and user experience, Drew will lead HTC Creative Labs and focus on innovative new products and user experience strategies. HTC is proud of its employees and has a track record of hiring the best and brightest," the company's spokesperson said.
The Verge reported that Bamford will report directly to CEO Peter Chou, who has expressed a desire to yield his attention to product design and leave the corporate side of the business to others.
"HTC's executive team has seen a lot of turnover in recent months, but Croyle's departure is the most significant one yet. Amid consistently slumping sales, the one bright light for HTC has been its critically acclaimed leadership in design. Without the captain steering that ship, there's now even greater uncertainty about how HTC will fare in the future - particularly now that the company is trying to break into new product categories like wearables and needs a clear vision more than ever," says The Verge.
The HTC One M8 has a unique design that has set the phones apart from the competition, giving it a level of buzz in the face of a marketing blitz from rival Samsung. HTC is hoping the M8 will help turn around its fortunes, CNET reported.
