Crypto Phones From HTC, Solana: Is Metaverse Ready For Its iPhone Moment?

The metaverse is ever-evolving and the latest entrants in this world are metaverse or crypto phones. The entry of HTC’s metaverse phone, Desire 22 Pro, a follow-up to last year’s HTC Desire 21 Pro, and blockchain company Solana’s upcoming cryptophone Saga, in collaboration with Osom, a leading Android development company, can be a game-changer in tech.

The HTC Desire 22 Pro is speculated to be released in India around September 30, 2022, with a starting price of around Rs 30,530. Solana Labs announced the launch of its Web 3 smartphone Saga, which will be available in 2023, at an event last week in New York City.

Considering the new launches, is this going to be the metaverse world’s iPhone moment? How will metaverse phones impact the world? The answers to some of these questions are still difficult to give. In the meantime, we tell you what they offer.

What Is A Metaverse Phone?                                                                                            

A metaverse phone is a next-generation device which combines the security of a crypto hardware wallet with a smartphone’s usability to provide a highly secure cryptographic gadget.

Through a metaverse phone, users can have easy access to the metaverse community via mobile browser. Users can also experience live-streaming music and video content and switch between realities seamlessly.

“Metaverse is still in an evolving phase and everyone is trying to figure out the right device that will help in making Metaverse consumable by a larger audience. A phone is obviously the perfect choice as the user does not need to buy anything new for exploring the Metaverse. The biggest advantage is that it can make the Metaverse accessible to more people and, depending on the device's specifications, can make content consumption on Metaverse easier,” says Piyush Gupta, President, Kestone, a digital marketing firm.

Features Of HTC’s Desire 22 Pro

HTC’s Desire 22 Pro’s approach is similar to its previous blockchain-powered smartphone, the Exodus 1, which was released in 2018 and was followed by the more affordable Exodus 1S the following year.

The HTC Desire 22 Pro comes with a preloaded app VIVERSE that helps you navigate the metaverse and manage your cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Users can browse and trade in VIVE Market, put cryptocurrencies on Ethereum and Polygon chains into the VIVE Wallet, and invite their friends into the metaverse world as guests, according to details on HTC website.

The VIVERSE platform combines VR, AR, AI, and blockchain, with 5G being a key component. Desire 22 pro is also the best partner of VIVE Flow immersive VR glasses. It is easy to connect and pair and experience the metaverse community in VIVERSE.

The HTC Desire 22 Pro, like previous HTC crypto phones, has an integrated crypto wallet for Ethereum- and Polygon-based assets. It's attempting to combine its blockchain phone credentials with its VR product line with the Desire 22 Pro.

The HTC Desire 22 Pro is a mid-range smartphone powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G processor, with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage space.

Features of Solana’s Saga

The Saga smartphone, which will run Google's Android OS, will be priced around $1,000 (roughly Rs 78,300) and will include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, a 6.67-inch OLED display, 12GB RAM, and 512GB of internal storage, according to a Solana blogpost.

A Saga Pass, an NFT that comes with the initial wave of Saga devices and the first ticket to influencing the future of the platform, may be offered to pre-orderers, the blogpost added.

The phone will also support decentralised apps based on the Solana blockchain. Saga and Solana's new software efforts have received support from NFT marketplace Magic Eden, Solana wallet maker Phantom, and cryptocurrency exchange Orca.

Will These Phones Work For The Masses?

Consumers demand a mobile-friendly experience. The smartphones will attract a niche audience with their blockchain and metaverse features. “The concept of a Metaverse phone is cool and futuristic and it will be very interesting to experience the phone to explore its features. But it may not work for the masses. Whether it will work in the Indian market depends on who the target audience for the product is. If it is the premium segment, which are the early adopters and those looking to try something new, it can work. Also, it might find traction in the B2B space, which already uses AR/VR devices to solve problems,” adds Gupta.

With both the phones high on technology and cost, it will be interesting to see how these new-age smartphones perform in the Indian market, given that Indian smartphone consumers are concerned with both features and price.