HIGHLIGHTS
- In April, HTC will release a new flagship Android smartphone.
- The forthcoming HTC smartphone is said to include "metaverse" features.
- Since 2018, this will be HTC's first flagship smartphone.
HTC lost a large piece of its smartphone manufacturing business to Google in 2018, but the firm continued to try to break into the affordable category with little success. The business now intends to return to the premium category with a flagship Android smartphone that will have "metaverse" characteristics.
HTC Asia Pacific General Manager Charles Huang told DigiTimes (via WinFuture) that the firm will launch a "metaverse phone" next month. It's unclear what HTC means by "metaverse phone," but we're guessing it'll include AR and VR capabilities. According to the storey, the next "metaverse phone" would be a luxury product, with top-of-the-line technology to fuel the smartphone's capabilities.
HTC Vive Flow augmented reality/virtual reality headset
HTC revealed the Viverse at MWC, an open-source metaverse platform that incorporates the company's Vive AR/VR headsets. Yes, the "metaverse phone" sounds strange, but with HTC on its side and Viverse integrated into the next smartphone, things may work out in HTC's favour.
It's not the first time a smartphone manufacturer has attempted to enter the AR/VR market. Previously, Google and Samsung attempted to capitalise on AR/VR with DayDream and GearVR. While Google discontinued DayDream support with Android 11, Samsung cancelled the GearVR project after a year of its existence.
Furthermore, this is not the first time HTC has attempted to entice buyers with a trendy trend. In 2018, HTC released Exodus 1, sometimes known as the CryptoPhone, which was billed as a hardware wallet for cryptocurrencies. The bitcoin industry has exploded, but HTC has had difficulty finding consumers for Exodus 1. As a result, it's difficult to predict if HTC's future "metaverse phone" will be a success or a repeat of Exodus 1.
Key Specs
HTC Exodus
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 | 6 GBProcessor
6.0 inchesDisplay
12 MP + 16 MPRear camera
8 MP + 8 MPSelfie camera
3500 mAhBattery
