- HTC’s new Desire 22 Pro phone comes with crypto and NFT wallets and access to its metaverse
- The new phone connects to HTC’s Viverse metaverse concept
- HTC has kept its crypto compatibility quiet
As if Solana’s Saga phone announcement last week wasn’t big enough, HTC has gone one better with crypto, NFT and metaverse integration in its new Desire 22 Pro smartphone. The midrange offering includes an Ethereum and Polygon crypto wallet, an NFT wallet, and access to HTC’s metaverse – Viverse. It’s also compatible with HTC virtual headsets for a completely immersive experience, although the company didn’t choose to feature any of these benefits in its promotion video.
Desire 22 pro is the phone to carry you into the future.
Learn more: https://t.co/QOev17nRSQ#htc pic.twitter.com/Hrwrp5iNmw— HTC (@htc) June 28, 2022
Welcome to the Viverse
HTC of course has form in the crypto phone space after launching its Exodus 1s model in 2020, a device that allowed users to run a full Bitcoin node, and later mine Monero (XMR). However, times have changed since then, times that HTC has certainly moved with. The HTC Desire 22 Pro comes with access to Viverse, allowing users to store digital assets such as NFTs in their Viverse wallet and allowing them to trade them in the Viverse Marketplace. The Desire 22 Pro even comes with a free cat-themed NFT in the wallet to get you started.
HTC has pinned a lot on Viverse, which is the digital universe where all crypto-related shenanigans will be carried out, with some reviewers already reporting that the phone is intended to be nothing more than an extension of HTC’s Vive Flow virtual reality glasses.
HTC Keeps Crypto Elements Quiet
Interestingly, HTC has not exactly gone overboard on selling the crypto aspect. In its promotional videos and even on the relevant page on its website there is no mention of a crypto wallet or the ability to trade NFTs. This is probably because crypto was extremely hot when the phone was being designed but it’s no longer in demand since the start of the bear market.
Of course, the other reason could be related to a phenomenon we’ve noticed recently where companies are loath to publicly mention NFT support because of the backlash it engenders. Early reviewers have been disappointed by the specs of the HTC Desire 22 Pro, and until the crypto/metaverse experience is actually tried hands on we won’t know if this is a breakthrough moment for Web 3.0 or just another addition to the crypto mobile scrapheap.
