HTC Says 'It's Apple That Copies Us' After One A9 Called iPhone Lookalike

HTC has denied claims that its new flagship One A9 smartphone copies the iPhone. At a press briefing in Taiwan, company executive Jack Tong said that "it's Apple that copies us" in terms of antenna design—the Taiwanese handset maker was first to release a metal unibody smartphone nearly three years ago.

htconea9

The HTC One A9 compared to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (via The Verge)

The response was reported by Want China Times (via BGR):

"We're not copying. We made a uni-body metal-clad phone in 2013. It's Apple that copies us in terms of the antenna design on the back," Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said at a press briefing at the Taiwan launch of the One A9.

"The A9 is made thinner and more lightweight than our previous metal-clad phones. This is a change and evolution, and we're not copying," he said.

The original HTC One M7 launched in March 2013 with an aluminum unibody frame and plastic antenna lines along the top and bottom of the smartphone, both design cues that Apple adopted for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, released 18 months later, and has since carried over to the iPhone 6s lineup.

HTC-One-M7

The original HTC One with an all-metal unibody design launched in March 2013

The One A9 is considered an iPhone lookalike because it has a similar rounded chassis, plastic antenna lines and a protruding rear-facing camera, and because it is available in almost identical colors as the current iPhone lineup. The smartphone also has one speaker located next to the charging port on the bottom.

HTC's rebuttal comes after The Verge described the One A9 as "the most blatant and highest-profile iPhone ripoff since Samsung's original Galaxy S," a bold argument that has been contested by some HTC supporters. The copycat allegations have received significant media coverage this week.

Ultimately, while there is no denying that HTC's One A9 is an iPhone-driven evolution of the HTC One series, it is clear that both smartphone makers have borrowed similar design qualities from each other over the years. Apple has not commented on the matter, but has taken legal action against Samsung for copying in the past.


The One A9 is HTC's latest flagship Android smartphone, featuring a 5-inch screen with a curved-edge display, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.5 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB storage, Quick Charge 2.0 and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The smartphone is available in a range of colors, including Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Deep Garnet and Topaz Gold, for $399 unlocked.

Top Rated Comments

SSD-GUY Avatar
110 months ago
I'm sorry, but as I read this, all I could think of was:

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sunday Ironfoot Avatar
110 months ago
Didn't the iPhone 5 have a "uni-body metal-clad" design, with plastic bands at the top and bottom for antennas? And that came out in 2012.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Corrode Avatar
110 months ago
And they coincidentally named it the A9...the same chip that's inside the iPhone 6s. No confusion there.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
110 months ago
Who really is 100% original these days with no influences from competitors? No one.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GuitarDTO Avatar
110 months ago
Honestly, who cares at this point. One runs iOS, the other Android. That is all that really matters IMO.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgiguere1 Avatar
110 months ago
Oh please, as if the unibody metal construction was the only thing it had in common with the iPhone...

The metal finish, corner radiuses, flat back, curved front glass that blends with the sides, camera ring, two-tone flash, speaker grill, etc. are all more similar to the iPhone than any past HTC One phone.

The iPhone 6's design is basically a 5th-gen iPod touch with a curved front glass and antenna breaks. Really the only new thing HTC brought first was the antenna breaks. They can brag about innovating on antenna breaks all they want, it's not representative of a phone's entire design and doesn't negate the fact they took inspiration from other aspects of the iPhone's design.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...