HTC’s blockchain phone, Exodus, will launch before the end of the year

Things aren’t going so well for HTC at the moment (or over the last couple of years, really), and the company is looking for a way to right the ship.

Following reports that HTC’s sales fell by as much as 68 percent year-over-year and its announcement that it is letting go of 1,500 employees from its Taiwan division, it’s betting on a bit of a Hail Mary to shake things up later this year. That hopeful device is called the Exodus, and it’s a blockchain-powered Android smartphone that was officially announced earlier this year.

Unfortunately, at the time HTC didn’t have a lot to talk about regarding the Exodus except to say that it is a handset designed for a cryptocurrency future, built with a secure hardware enclave and a universal wallet. HTC’s Phil Chen recently spoke with The Verge about the upcoming smartphone and confirmed the handset would launch before the end of 2018. However, no specific date is ready for you to circle on the calendar just yet.

As far as pricing is concerned, there is no official announcement there just yet, either. Chen did say that the Exodus will be “comparable” to the Finney, another blockchain smartphone that’s priced at $1,000 and manufactured by Sirin Labs.

HTC envisions a future where the Exodus supports “the entire blockchain ecosystem”, and HTC wants to create a native blockchain network, with Exodus devices working as nodes that serve as cryptocurrency trading points for users.

This is a big bet for HTC, and one that may make or break the company depending on how well it fares out in the market. Are you remotely interested in the Exodus?

source: androidandme