HTC is expected to launch a new mobile phone with metaverse features on Tuesday, as the virtual reality (VR) gear and smartphone maker continues its Web3 expansion. 

See related article: Smartphone giant Huawei doubles down on blockchain technology

Fast facts

  • In a tweet earlier in June, HTC’s VR and metaverse arm Viverse teased a phone-shaped graphic without disclosing additional details or specifications.
  • HTC hasn’t responded to Forkast’s request for comment by press time.
  • The Taiwanese consumer electronics firm has shifted its focus to VR gear production, with its latest phone release dating back to January 2021.
  • Chaoying Huang, HTC’s general manager for APAC, said in March that the company intends to roll out a metaverse-related phone in 2022, clarifying HTC was not ditching the smartphone business, Taiwanese tech media Business Next reported.
  • In 2017, Google bought a US$1.1 billion slice of HTC’s smartphone hardware business.
  • HTC is among the early phone makers to experiment with blockchain technology.

See related article: Samsung joins South Korean pilot to test CBDC on Galaxy smartphone