Smartphone manufacturer says its regional sales teams can set their own prices; U.S. price will go up by $100
One big question surrounding the new HTC One A9 has to do with the price. Or, specifically, the fact that the $399 price in the U.S. came with the caveat of “Limited time, promotional offer” — and that the A9 tops out at upwards of $725 (U.S. equivalent) in Europe. That rightfully caused a few brows to furrow. Problem was we didn’t have any idea just how long that “limited time, promotional offer” would last — or why the phone was almost twice as expensive outside of the U.S.
So why the discrepancy? According to HTC, it has to do with its regional sales teams being able to price products independently. And if you’re looking to get the A9 in the U.S. at that $399 sweet spot, you’ve got a little more than a week to do so.
Here’s the word from HTC directly:
“The cost of the HTC One A9 is the same worldwide to all distributors and operator partners. For end consumers, HTC’s sales regions are given the freedom to set prices and promotions as they see fit for local market needs. The One A9 price in the US is a very limited-time promotional offer for that region’s online store, as well as select HTC-only franchise stores. The offer is a special promotional pre-sale and is expected to conclude once the One A9 is available on-shelf at major retail and distributor partners.
After the promotional pre-sale offer ends, the new price in the US at htc.com will be $499.99 beginning 12:01 a.m. on 11/7.”
So, that’s that. Come Nov. 7, the A9 becomes a little more expensive in the U.S. — but still not quite as tough a pill to swallow as elsewhere in the world.
HTC One A9
- Current OS version: Android 6.0
- Current security: Nov. 2015 (More info)
- HTC One A9 review
- HTC One A9 specs
- HTC One A9 photos
- Join our A9 forums
HTC.com