- HTC had reportedly confirmed the development of the smartphone at MWC 2022.
- The moniker and specifications of the HTC phone remain unclear.
It also indicates that HTC's upcoming device will initially
debut in select markets, likely excluding India. The latest development comes
months after a report indicated the launch of a 'flagship' HTC smartphone in
April 2022.
HTC Vive Asia-Pacific GM Charles Huang had reportedly
confirmed the development of the HTC smartphone at MWC 2022; however, we are
still awaiting official details. Since the phone is said to offer HTC's Viverse
experience seamlessly, we can expect some kind of integration with HTC Vive AR
and VR headsets.
If the rumour about the phone's flagship status is also
accurate, we can speculate it to feature high-end chipsets like the Snapdragon
8-series or MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 SoC.
It will be interesting to see what HTC has to offer with its
'flagship' Android smartphone. As the term metaverse continues to gain
momentum, HTC could start a trend of launching new devices fully focused on
this virtual reality space, which Facebook mainly popularised after rebranding
its parent company to Meta.
Some observers may also see the June 28 launch event as
HTC's comeback into the high-end or premium mid-budget smartphone space. The
company continues to launch affordable mid-budget segment smartphones, though
these are available in fewer countries.
HTC phones were once popular in India, and the brand even
partnered with Google to launch the old-gen Nexus devices. In 2018, Google
parent Alphabet formally acquired a large chunk of HTC's smartphone business.
HTC is yet to clarify the timing of its launch event later
this month. We can expect more details ahead of the formal launch event.