Fans who were waiting for the next HTC smartphone flagship to make its appearance at the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show 2016 were disappointed as the expected unveiling of the One M10 did not happen. Instead, HTC chose to focus on its other flagship products, particularly its Vive VR system.

This led some observers to believe that HTC will focus on its VR lineups for this year, and might delay the anticipated launch of the One M10.

According to The Bit Bag, HTC might be focusing so much on its attempt at creating a new virtual reality lineup that it might even sideline some of its anticipated works, including a new smartphone iteration. The industry follower added that the enthusiasm for the new industry is felt even in the upper echelons of the company. HTC's CEO Cher Wang said, "Virtual reality is something people have talked about for 20, 30 years, in movies, in books and finally, it is real. VR has been on our minds for a long time, and now HTC has made virtual reality real".

While Wang did not directly say that the One M10 and other HTC flagships will be sidelined, the CEO did hint that focus on existing lineups would at least be halved in order to further develop the company's VR products. Wang added, "We feel that we should apply our best design to different type of sectors. Yes, smartphones are important, but to create a natural extension to other connected devices like wearables and virtual reality is more important."

Meanwhile, rumors of the One M10 being released early this year haven't waned. Some observers believe that there is a chance that the One M10 might make an appearance at next month's Mobile World Congress, much like what its predecessors did.

The Mobile World Congress 2016 happens on Feb. 22 to 25 in Barcelona.