How can the HTC U11 be selling so well already?

The new HTC U11 is a strong phone with a great rear camera, excellent audio and an impressive yet strange design that not other manufacturer offers. 

The latest report suggests that's all working out well for the HTC... but what figures are they quoting?

The U11 was released at the end of May for those in Asia and the start of June for parts of the wider world, but the President of HTC’s smartphone and connected device division Chang Chia-lin has confirmed in a shareholder report the phone is selling well.

He said the "HTC U11 has been selling better than its predecessors, the HTC 10 and HTC One M9."

How does HTC know?

Both the HTC 10 and One M9 suffered from poor sales upon release, so it's not a huge surprise the U11 is performing better than those devices.

Exactly how HTC has found these figures so far is unclear though. It may be figures pulled from pre-orders of the phone, but surely it's too early for the HTC U11's actual sales figures to be known by HTC - especially in any meaningful way?

Instead Chia-lin may be speaking about sales to retailers, which isn't an exact reflection of sales to consumers. This is the amount of handsets retailers around the world will buy in with an aim to sell onto customers. 

Interest from retailers is a good sign for the phone to be a success, but it isn't an accurate measurement of actual sales performance for HTC to go off from. 

We have asked HTC for comment on where the figures have come from and will update this story when we hear back.

• Read our review of the HTC U11