HTC is taking a second stab at a gold colored phone since the launch of the iPhone 5S. The first attempt was a phone coated in real gold. For the record, gold is an awful material for making things like smartphones. This time around, HTC has decided to just skip the pretense, and directly copy Apple's champaign finish. 

We have seen this all before, except last time, the color was white instead of gold. When Apple announce the iPhone 4, they promised a white variant of the new phone. It turned out that they couldn't deliver on that promise in a timely manner. White was a difficult color to do in glass. Eventually, competitors started rereleasing all of their phones in white. Sure, it was whit plastic, but they just wanted to catch some of that Apple magic. White phones hit the market like snow on Christmas eve. 

Today, it's gold. Apple releases the first, mainstream phone in champaign gold. record lines form, and everyone wants the gold one. Apple has trouble producing enough gold colored phones to meet demand. Suddenly, competitors discover champaign gold. History repeats itself, and lightning strikes twice in the same place. Gold is indeed, the new white.

David Johnson