HTC Corporation recently followed the gold trend in smartphones. However, its new unit would not be up for sale and were definitely different from the gold-colored iPhones and Galaxy S4s everyone had come to know.

The Gold HTC One 3 line had its smartphones made in actual, 18-carat gold. Valuing at GBP2,750 or USD4,416, the smartphone line only consisted of 5 units only. One of the units had been reserved for the winner of the Best Newcomer category, and the others would be also given away at the 18th Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards that would be held on October 19. The phones reserved as award prizes would also have the label "MOBO 18" etched on the lower back of the phone to commemorate the awards' 18th anniversary.

An analysis of the recent earnings of HTC were dire. HTC reported a net loss of USD100 million for the third quarter, twice as big as analysts' expectations. Mobile and tech news site BGR said since 2011, executions by management of the mobile phone company had been missing its marks. The report pointed out HTC's expensive marketing campaigns like the USD1 billion Robert Downey Jr ad, and its inability to grasp sales trends as the reasons for its descent in the smartphone race.