(Pocket-lint) - Cher Wang, HTC’s chairwomen and CEO, has said that the company plans to launch a new "Hero product" in the smartphone segment in October.

Talking at the company’s annual general meeting, the CEO apologised for the company’s poor performance of late, but said that things would change for the better towards the end of the year.

According to the Taipei Times:

"In an effort to improve the company’s smartphone segment, HTC's core business, Wang said the company plans to launch a 'hero product' in October, and make significant improvements in innovation and design for the next flagship model next year."

The terminology used doesn't suggest the company is about to replace the HTC One M9, but instead launch a different product to sit along side the flagship phone. A model that hasn't already been released yet.

HTC has struggled follow up the success of its 2014 HTC One M8 device.

This year’s M9 model was heavily criticised by the industry, and Pocket-lint, for lacking any real differentiation from the previous version. Many, including us, have also reported poor camera performance, which failed to impress against its competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S6, the LG G4, and the iPhone 6.

The Taipei Times is reporting that the "company is also planning to improve its product mix strategy for smartphones" - suggesting a wider variety of handsets is on the cards. HTC has recently launched the HTC One M8s in the UK with Three and other handsets globally, like the The HTC J Butterfly 3, which looks to take some of the HTC Desire Eye's design, including waterproofing, and packs it full of top-drawer specs.

It's yet unknown what HTC is planning for the October reveal.

Wang added at the meeting that she hopes new products like the company's VR collaboration with Steam, the HTV Vive, will help bolster turnover.

The company has previous stated however that it expects non-smartphone revenues to only account for around 10 per cent of the total company income, suggesting that the company is still relying on its phone ranges to deliver any improvement to the bottom line.

HTC has confirmed to Pocket-lint that the comments made my Wang and reported by the Taipei Times are correct.

Writing by Stuart Miles.