Fancy a phone you can use to make NFTs while taking photos on your yacht in Marini di Capri? Here it is. While many struggle amid rising prices, it seems there’s still a market for ridiculously priced devices, and Vertu is banking on what it describes as the first-ever ‘Web3 phone’.
Metavertu can run its own blockchain node, allowing users to turn photos and videos into NFTs. It can also be used as a “validator” on the Ethereum blockchain. But with a ceramic frame and sapphire glass screen, even the entry-level iPhone 14 prices make them look like peanuts.
Unveiled at an event in London amid plenty of black outfits and sunglasses, the Metavertu features a Qualcomm SnapDragon 8 Gen 1 CPU, a 6.67-inch 2400×1080 AMOLED display and a triple-lens camera array. The top-spec model has 18GB of RAM and 1TB of storage and comes encased in ‘Himalaya Alligator leather’, 18K gold and diamonds. The price tag? Only $41,500 / £35,660.
There are multiple calfskin and alligator skin finishes and a “basic” carbon fiber model with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It’s available for pre-order for a modest $3,600 / £3,093 (and we thought the rumored iPhone 15 Ultra sounded like it would be expensive). Users get 10 terabytes of distributed storage on IPFS and access to Vertu’s ‘red button’ 24/7 concierge service, which now includes a ‘dedicated NFT investment team’ to help users understand NFTs and recommend collections to buy.
GM!⚡️LIVE from METAVERTU GLOBAL LAUNCHToday IoDF CEO & Co-Founder Leanne Elliott-Young along with @vertu CEO #GaryChan introduce and launch METAVERTU, the world’s first #web3 phone. #vertu #vertuphone #metavertu #blockchain #metaverseNFT #NFTCommunity pic.twitter.com/Jr8wt1KjrM24 October 2022
Who wants to pay $41,500 for a phone? Presumably the same people who buy Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Metavertu is described as a ‘Web3 phone’ that can run its own blockchain node and turn photos and videos into NFTs with a single click. Vertu CEO Gary Chan said the goal was to “reinvent the smartphone to decomplicate Web3.”
The phone can switch between a standard Web2 Android operating system and a Web3 mode, which features an Android-like interface designed to feel familiar to users. It allows users to easily create a wallet with private keys protected by the phone’s trusted execution environment (TEE) and access decentralized applications (apps). These include VOS, which allows the phone to be used as a “validator, light node and light client” on the Ethereum blockchain, and Vshot, which allows users to create an NFT from a photo or video. There is also an encrypted peer-to-peer messaging app called Vtalk.
Metavertu is a big effort for a company that went bankrupt in 2017 and has changed hands several times. The company previously went for luxury trims but middling specs, but the upcoming release shows that it is now focusing on eyebrow-raising technology as well as looks.
An advertisement on the company’s website Twitter account (opens in a new tab) appears to challenge Apple in a metaverse-themed parody of the tech giant’s famous Apple Macintosh commercial from 1984 (we think it’s a parody, it’s hard to tell), declaring that 2022 is not the new 1984. Although we’re not very convinced that Vertu will dethrone Apple at these prices.
It was the worst of times, it is the best of times. But 2022 is our time. It’s not the next 1984. It’s the present. It is the future. Join the revolution.🚀 #vertu #metavertu #web3phone #republicofvertu pic.twitter.com/1sGQXrfB0E28 September 2022
The Metavertu is for sale on the Vertu website (opens in a new tab) for delivery from 3 November. It will also be available in stores, including a new store on London’s Bond Street, due to open later this year. If you’re not convinced, check out the best current iPhone 14 prices below, and see our pick of the best iPhone 14 cases.
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