HTC, one of the market’s leading smartphone manufacturers, is turning to new horizons as they develop the “world’s first native blockchain phone.”
The Taiwanese firm was the first to launch an Android-based smartphone back in 2010, and its novelty changed the industry forever. On May 14th, HTC revealed its vision for the future of smartphones at the Consensus 2018 cryptocurrency conference in New York, a future with blockchain and mobile technology deeply connected, supporting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum.
“Our vision is to expand the blockchain ecosystem by creating the world’s first phone dedicated to decentralized applications and security, With the release of the HTC Exodus we can now make this a reality… we believe we can help reshape the internet.”
HTC states on the device´s dedicated site.
The Android-powered smartphone will feature a native, universal cryptocurrency wallet that would allow users to make and accept cryptocurrency payments to other devices. Every device would act as a node, allowing customers to exchange cryptocurrency. The HTC Exodus would also support decentralized apps (DApps), encrypted apps working with blockchain technology. DApps are known to be more secure that standard apps.
Details about the phone are scarce. No official pictures of the device have been published. There are neither hardware specifications or a release day, but we can speculate, based on a similar project, the Sirin Labs’ blockchain-powered phone and PC Finney that costs 999$ and is set to be released later this year and will also feature a cryptocurrency wallet.
Development of the Exodus is being led by Phil Chen, previously part of the
team behind HTC’s Vive virtual reality headset. And now holds the title of “chief
decentralized officer.” He will head all of the firm’s cryptocurrency and blockchain-related
projects.
“I want to see a world where the end consumers can truly own their data without
the need for central authorities, there is a lot of work ahead of us, but I believe the
mobile hardware layer can contribute significantly to our new decentralized
world.”
Said Chen at a conference in May of 2018.
by Samuel Larreal
