HTC Delays Evo 4G LTE Launch as U.S. Customs Investigates Shipments for Breach of Apple Patent

htc logoLast December, Apple won a U.S. International Trade Commission case against HTC, with the agency ruling that several of HTC's handsets infringed upon a pair of Apple-held patents. The agency's ruling included a ban on the import of infringing devices beginning in April, although HTC quickly responded to say that it had already designed a workaround for the issue in question.

But as reported by The Verge late yesterday, U.S. Customs officials have delayed shipments of HTC's new One X and Evo 4G LTE handsets into the United States as it investigates whether those handsets also infringe upon Apple's patents.

We've learned today that the One X and Evo 4G LTE are indefinitely delayed at Customs as the agency investigates patent issues with Apple, and sources have further confirmed that some shipments are indeed being held back. The One X is also currently out of stock at AT&T's online store and at most AT&T retail stores we've called — and few had any information on when more units would arrive.

HTC issued a follow-up statement confirming the customs hold and indicating that it is working to secure the release of the shipments.

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

Dow Jones Newswires provides more information today, noting that HTC will need to delay the launch of the Evo 4G LTE, which had been scheduled to debut on Sprint this Friday, May 18. In addition, AT&T is experiencing shortages of the One X due to the customs hold, although some units were able to enter the country before the import ban went into effect on April 19.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

ChrisTX Avatar
171 months ago
The famous words spoken by Steve Jobs "and boy have we patented it" referring to the original iPhone back in 2007 have all but been forgotten by everyone in this industry.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Winni Avatar
171 months ago
While it may seem like that, and Apple remains the biggest company in the world you still need to respect their patents.

The patents in this case are as trivial as it gets. They should not have been granted in the first place.

I have a background in software development, technical writing and networking, so I actually am a person that should feel protected by IP laws. But I live and work in the real world, and all I can say is that it is my firm belief that the entire patent and copyright system is a perversion that is only there for the benefit of large corporations and especially software patents should be abolished yesterday.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
171 months ago
Advertisements? Have you ever even used one?

Copy everything? HTC has came up with so many original hardware designs over the past several years. I believe they were the first with a unibody phone with the Legend. They are also known to have tried different hinges for their hard keyboard phones. They are all about innovation.

Their HTC Sense UI especially seems to be quite appreciated by the industry.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AP_piano295 Avatar
171 months ago
I don't see how it's inaccurate. Maybe instead of being snarky you can contribute to the conversation.

A better analogy would be:

Apple builds a house and moves in.

HTC builds a house next-door which is different in almost every way. Except they used some very similar tiles in the downstairs bathroom.

So instead of accepting that there really isn't that much difference between any set of blue tiles. Apple tells its lawyers to sue HTC and keep them from moving into their house until they pull up the tiles in the bathroom and replace them with tiles that Apple thinks are different enough.

This is a much better analogy of what is actually going on here.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aerok Avatar
171 months ago
HTC's slogan, "Quietly Brilliant", is very false. They spam us with advertisements and copy everything (not just from Apple).

Advertisements? Have you ever even used one?

Copy everything? HTC has came up with so many original hardware designs over the past several years. I believe they were the first with a unibody phone with the Legend. They are also known to have tried different hinges for their hard keyboard phones. They are all about innovation.


The moron who spilled her coffee was able to sue McDonalds and get money easily. A small company with a good reason could beat a large company in a lawsuit.

Read about the case, it is not as moronic as you think it is.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
171 months ago
Wonder what the people cheering for this news will say if the iPhone gets held up at customs following an ITC ruling against Apple :

http://www.slashgear.com/itc-finds-apple-violates-one-motorola-patent-24224485/

Apple was found to infringe a Motorola patent by the ITC on the 24th of April and a ban could be issued for iPads and iPhones.

Will VirtualBall and others claiming "you need to respect Apple's patents" do the same against Apple and for Motorola ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)