With "Metaverse" features: HTC ahead of smartphone comeback
HTC is apparently about to make a comeback as a smartphone manufacturer. The new flagship model is supposed to have "Metaverse" features. This fits in with the VR glasses that the company has focused on lately.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HTC announced to Digitimes that it plans to introduce a new top smartphone at the end of April. The highlight: The phone is supposed to have something to do with the Metaverse. What exactly, however, remains to be seen.
From smartphones to VR glasses and back again
Since the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp was renamed Meta, and the vision announced by Mark Zuckerberg in this context, the term "Metaverse" has been used inflationarily. It has become a marketing phrase for all sorts of things related to virtual and augmented reality. However, HTC has been active in this very area in recent years with its Vive VR goggles. The current model, the Vive Flow, does not necessarily require a PC, but is also designed for use with a smartphone.
However, HTC has so far not spoken of the Metaverse in connection with its VR glasses, but has created its own term of art with the term "Viverse".
HTC's last top smartphone was released in December 2018. The Exodus 1 jumped on the Bitcoin trend at the time and featured a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, the phone did not become a big seller. Earlier that year, HTC had sold its smartphone division to Google. Despite the focus on VR glasses, HTC did not completely give up smartphones. However, only a few mid-range and entry-level models were released in the last few years - and those were mostly only in Taiwan.
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