Jonah Becker has only been at the helm of HTC's Industrial Design team for 11 months, but it appears as if he is leaving the Taiwanese manufacturer. His predecessor Scott Croyle performed a similar act less than a year ago, although the reasons for each departure are quite different.

The move follows the appointment of a new CEO by HTC, with Peter Chou being succeeded by Cher Wang. According to reports, the reason for Becker's departure (completely of his own volition) was prompted by the lack in design improvement for the HTC One M9, which bears far too great a resemblance to the M8. This too is compounded by the fact that very virtually no internal improvements have been made to the M9, a big concern considering the strides that Samsung has made with their flagship this year.

Spot the difference?

Coincidentally, HTC may be trying to mirror their South Korean manufacturer's moves, as their own design lead resigned amid criticism of the plastic heavy Galaxy S5. Whether or not HTC's move can yield a better flagship in 12 months time is uncertain, but whoever assumes the vacant design lead position has a big task on their hands.