Are you a diehard HTC fan that is looking to buy the HTC 10? Are you an AT&T customer that’s at least intrigued to try the handset in your palm in a local AT&T retail store?
Well, if you are, prepare for disappointment. HTC has confirmed that the 10 will not be available for sale through US carrier AT&T:
AT&T won’t be selling HTC 10 directly, so we encourage AT&T customers to purchase the open channel device directly from HTC.com.”
The company said this to tech site TechnoBuffalo in a personal interview, but also confirmed the same through social media. HTC representative Jeff Gordon wrote on Twitter to tech site Droid Life, “We encourage AT&T customers to purchase our unlocked model at HTC.com. Full AT&T support!”
This is an odd situation indeed for a company that looks to rebound in the smartphone market. AT&T is one of the top 2 carriers (the other being Verizon), and the company needs as many interested buyers as possible in order to ensure that its new smartphone will be a success. It’s been said that HTC is doing this because it wants to ensure that it has a bloat-free experience without carrier apps, but this doesn’t explain why the HTC 10 is launching with Verizon (which supplies its usual carrier apps for all smartphones, iPhones being the exception to the rule).
This is the only explanation we have behind why HTC may have pulled the 10 with AT&T (or the carrier chose not to carry it), but we’ll keep our ears to the ground for more information as it surfaces.
AT&T customers, does this affect your decision to buy the HTC 10, or do you plan to purchase the device unlocked at HTC’s website anyway? Do you have another phone such as the LG G5 or Samsung Galaxy S7 edge that has caught your eye and wallet already?
