HTC's new phone could be the key to unlocking the metaverse

What you need to know

• HTC is re-entering the smartphone market with a new announcement on June 28.
• Details are still light, but the phone purportedly has something to do with the company's metaverse, which is called Viverse.
• HTC first teased the phone way back in March after it first announced Viverse.

HTC sent out a date this week for an event the company will be holding on June 28 to announce its first major smartphone in some time. Little in the way of details were provided for the announcement, but the teaser shows a very clear outline of a smartphone, complete with what looks like a portal to the metaverse.

HTC previously teased the existence of the phone in March (opens in new tab) but, once again, didn't offer much in the way of details. This latest social media post (opens in new tab) at least comes with a visual of the phone's outline, including some comfy rounded corners and the presence of physical buttons on the sides. That last part is notable because HTC actually released a "buttonless" phone back in 2018 called the HTC U12 (opens in new tab) and it's been some time since HTC launched a truly great Android phone (opens in new tab).

(Image credit: HTC)

HTC's foray into its own metaverse drew a bit of criticism when it was first announced, as it looks to be a self-contained virtual world rather than one that's designed to work with other existing metaverse concepts. It's not clear yet what devices will support HTC's metaverse, but you can be sure this upcoming phone will make the list.

When Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta's vision of the metaverse (opens in new tab), the company went out of its way to discuss the idea of allowing third parties to create content. Additionally, Zuckerberg stressed that the metaverse wasn't just something built for VR headsets but that other devices, like smartphones, would play an important role in bringing folks into the virtual world.

Meta Quest 2

The metaverse might not just be for VR headsets, but there's nothing quite like experiencing a digital world with your own eyes and ears on a Quest 2.