HTC will never become anything other a second rate manufacturer because it is caught between two worlds.

They see themselves as a premium handset manufacturer, in the same vein as Samsung and Apple.  So they build devices and command the same $$$ for them as the leaders.

The public does not see them as anything, or as a competitor to companies like Huawei, ZTE or One Plus.  But those companies are selling great devices at much cheaper.

In order for HTC to succeed, they need to get the public on their side, get them involved in the company's product line, let them have feedback on what they would like to see from their own company.  They cannot rely on other product lines and they have no innovated for a long time.  their future is very dim without them changing the way they do business.

I should know, I worked for HTC during their heyday...then left for their competitor when I saw the incompetency of the leadership team and worked for a company that effectively destroyed them (and I was glad to wipe the smirks of those idiot leaders off their face).