HTC’s first blockchain smartphone called the Exodus will be officially announced by the end of this summer, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer said Wednesday. Originally confirmed in mid-May, the unconventional device is designed to help users “take back control of the value that exists in their personal identity and data,” according to the company. HTC claims the Exodus will be the world’s first handset entirely focused on decentralized security and apps, being capable of serving as a digital wallet, data vault, and a wide variety of other mobile tools relying on blockchain solutions, technologies based on public digital ledgers that are constantly monitored by countless clients connected to the thereof and are hence extremely difficult to compromise in practice.
As part of the Exodus project, HTC partnered with Cryptokitties, having agreed to have the non-fungible token (NFT) game pre-loaded on its upcoming smartphone, in addition to distributing it to a number of its other handsets, starting with the U12 Plus flagship. The mobile version of the popular cat collection game is expected to eventually make its way to other smartphones but HTC will be the first manufacturer to offer it in the West. The Exodus still doesn’t have a firm release date, with the Taipei, Taiwan-based tech giant only stating it’s planning to unveil the device by the end of the third quarter of the year.
The HTC Exodus domain that can be visited by referring to the banner below was spotted featuring a Vive logo some two months back, with the implication being that the upcoming device may also have some kind of virtual reality capabilities. HTC’s VR efforts have so far been focused on standalone and tethered solutions, with the company being yet to deliver a headset meant to be powered by an Android handset in the vein of Samsung’s Gear VR or Google’s Daydream View. The HTC Exodus is likely to run a custom implementation of Android, with the timing of its planned announcement coinciding with the window Google previously specified for the release of the first stable build of Android P. The device is likely to become available for purchase in late 2018, though it’s presently unclear whether HTC is meaning to target global availability.
HTC Exodus