HTC says 'it's Apple that copies us' after One A9 called an iPhone lookalike

HTC has denied claims that its new flagship One A9 smartphone is a copy of the iPhone.

Speaking at a press conference in Taiwan, China and North Asia HTC President Jack Tong said: "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. 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."

There's no disputing part of Tong's claim. HTC did indeed begin making unibody metal phones with rear plastic antenna lines long before Apple did. The thing is, they looked like this:

HTC One (M7)

Now, while that is an undeniably gorgeous phone (and we said as much in our review), it doesn't look much like an iPhone. The HTC One A9 on the other hand:

HTC One A9

So while Apple probably is guilty of copying certain design elements from HTC phones, the problem is HTC's One A9 copies just about every design element from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. After all, no-one would confuse an iPhone 6 for an HTC One M7/8/9 but move the camera position of the One A9 and change the logo on the back, and well:

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Source: Macrumors forum (original source unknown)

Source: Wantchinatimes via Macrumors

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