Some ideas on HTC's blockchain phone and what you can expect

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HTC has teased her pictures the next Android smartphone blockchain – the Exodus 1 – for months, but we may have to wait a little longer to see how it actually behaves in the real world.

The Taiwanese electronics giant was waiting to show a working demo of his laptop during an event in Schenna, China, but all of a sudden: the device was a no-show. Still, TechCrunch he managed to get his hands on Exodus 1, and has since shared the pictures of the phone (even if only the hardware, not the actual software).

A closer look at Exodus 1

For beginners, there are no surprises here: the device looks almost identical to the renderings that HTC presented in October.

The Exodus 1 comes with dual-camera configurations on both the front and back of the phone and has a transparent reflective support.

Here are some pictures of the device, courtesy of TechCrunch:

And here are the renderings that HTC presented at the start of this year:

Under the hood, the device will be powered by a top-of-the-range Snapdragon 845 processor, combined with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage space. The Exodus 1 will also be equipped with a 6-inch Quad HD display and a 3,500 mAh battery. This means that the phone should offer comparable performance to other Android flagships.

TechCrunch has shared some other images of the device, you can take a look here.

Stuck between a phone and a wallet

Of course, the whole shtick of Exodus 1 is not design: it's the many blockchain features that HTC has integrated into the device.

Among other things, the handset comes with an additional "secure enclave" and a series of blockchain-specific software implementations. HTC has also revealed that the phone will run an additional micro OS on Android, with which users will be able to securely store private keys in their cryptocurrency wallets – or so the company claims.

Unfortunately, we still have to see how one of these functions works.

But there is an obvious problem with the Exodus 1 from its appearance: as a "blockchain phone", it could be stuck in a category still non-existent between a "smartphone" and a "cryptocurrency portfolio solution". It's worth noting HTC is not just in this category; in fact, Sirin Labs, based in Israel, is firing to launch his phone with blockchain technology at the end of November.

At around $ 800 (the device was available for pre-order of 0.15 Bitcoins and 4.78, but its price varies due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies), Exodus 1 is a bit too expensive to justify the purchase simply as a smartphone, and still has to prove whether the phone it can also act as a truly safe wallet.

While Samsung insists that smartphones are excellent cryptocurrency portfolios, the researchers still recommend using a real hardware portfolio like Trezor or Ledger. "As the old adage about security says, "Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp told Hard Fork:" complexity is the enemy of security ".

Blockchain phones

Although the decentralized HTC officer, Phil Chen, told TechCrunch that the company takes the blockchain seriously, Exodus 1 is not a number one priority. "I do not think it's the number one on the list of priorities, but I would say it's the number three or four, "Chen said.

Reportedly, HTC has between 20 and 30 engineers working on its blockchain-based efforts, but the enterprise is still very much a learning process.

Late launches and canceled plans are not uncommon in the blockchain space, but it's a little worrying that HTC has had to silently interrupt the Exodus 1 global debut – especially when the device should start shipping next month.

Published November 20, 2018 at 12:52 UTC

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