HTC’s new Metaverse phone includes crypto and NFT wallet
by James · July 12, 2022
Smartphone maker HTC has launched its first “Viverse” phone, designed to be compatible with its metavers platform and incorporates crypto and NFT functionality.
HTC Desire 22 Pro comes preloaded with apps that let you access and manage your metaverse content, including crypto and NFTs, from your phone. A Viverse app also lets you buy NFTs in a digital marketplace and “create your own virtual space,” according to an announcement.
Like previous HTC “cryptophones”, the Desire 22 Pro also comes with a built-in crypto wallet for Ethereum and Polygon-based assets.
The device is optimized to work with HTC’s lightweight Vive Flow VR headset, with HDCP 2.2 connectivity that allows you to wirelessly mirror content to the VR headset, while a Vive Manager app also lets you set up and manage VR hardware your.
The smartphone “opens up new immersive experiences as the perfect partner for VIVE Flow – whether it’s meeting colleagues in VR, or enjoying your own private cinema wherever you are,” said Shen Ye, HTC’s global product manager, in a statement that followed with the announcement.
Specifications appeal
Billed as a “powerful midrange device”, the HTC Desire 22 Pro is not going to challenge the top tier of iPhones and Android devices.
It has a 6.6-inch Gorilla Glass screen with 1080 x 2412 pixel resolution and a refresh rate of 120 Hz, while under the hood there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G, and 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB of storage.
Keep the device ticking is a 4520 mAh battery with fast charging and wireless Qi charging functionality.
Like all modern smartphones, there is also a series of cameras to snap with; In the case of the Desire 22 Pro, you get a 64-megapixel main camera (f / 1.79), a 13-megapixel ultra-wide lens (f / 2.4) and a 5-megapixel depth-of-field camera (f / 2.4), along with a 32-megapixel front-facing camera (f / 2.0) for selfies.
For video recording, there is also image stabilization, night mode and 120 fps slow movie recording.
HTC and cryptophones
HTC was an early user of crypto technology.
As long ago as in 2018, it produced the Exodus 1 smartphone with a built-in crypto-hardware wallet and the ability to run a full Bitcoin urge.
The smaller Exodus 1s soon followed; At the time of launch, the company’s “chief decentralized officer,” Phil Chen Decrypt that “in five years it will be trivial to have a Bitcoin node or other blockchain nodes stored on your phone.”
Three years later, we are not quite at that point yet; but rival manufacturer Samsung has been including a secure element for storing private crypto keys on its devices for a while now.
HTC has given up on the smartphone rivals in recent years, and instead focuses on Vive virtual reality headsets.
With the Desire 22 Pro, it’s trying to combine its blockchain phone credentials with its VR product line and opt for the first metaverse smartphone. But with rival Apple reportedly preparing an AR / VR headset for release next year, HTC’s window of opportunity is limited for each day.
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