HTC Chief Designer Jonah Becker Abandons Ship After Just 11 Months On The Job

HTC parted ways with another executive this week, though the company didn’t indicate who had initiated the split. Jonah Becker, the lead designer on HTC’s One M9 smartphone, announced his departure on Twitter yesterday.

becker tweet

The move follows the departure of HTC co-founder Peter Chou from the CEO spot a little more than a week ago. Unlike Becker, who has left the company entirely, Chou is staying on as the head of HTC’s Future Development Lab.

HTC has been battered in recent years by competing with Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market. Sales have improved lately, and the flagship One M9, which has been getting plenty of positive attention, arrived today. And HTC appears to be building on the momentum by planning to release another phone soon.

htconem9
HTC One M9

All of this apparently hasn’t been enough to keep Becker around, though, and that raises questions about future HTC phones. Although Becker has been with HTC for more than five years, he’s held the lead designer spot for just less than a year. HTC has already named Creative Director Daniel Hundt to fill the lead designer position.  Becker, meanwhile, hasn’t provided any clues as to his next gig, though his departure tweet suggests he already has something in the works.