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HTC might be preparing a comeback to the flagship smartphone space after four years
With all your favorite 2022 buzzwords
HTC's smartphone glory days are long gone. The company used to be up among the top players in the game, but started to see a steady drop around 2017, with the launch of its U lineup. We haven't had a proper flagship from HTC since the release of the HTC U12+ in 2018, and it's mostly regarded as a dead brand these days, even as we sporadically get some mid-range or budget phones like last year's HTC Desire 21 Pro. But now it sounds like there's a chance we might just see a return of the Taiwanese giant to the flagship smartphone space, all thanks to... the metaverse?
Google's latest canceled VR project will at least live on as an open source project
Tilt Brush will remain available in digital stores
One of the more interesting VR applications we've seen in recent years is Tilt Brush, an app that lets users create 3D art in a virtual environment. Unfortunately, Google has announced that it's ending internal development for the app. It will get another chance to succeed, however, as an open-source project.
HTC Vive's venture into standalone VR headsets, the Vive Focus, was unveiled late last year, but the launch was unfortunately confined to the Chinese market. Unlike existing VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift or the standard HTC Vive, the Focus doesn't require being tethered to a powerful computer to work, making it a truly standalone experience. On the other hand, existing standalone virtual reality goggles like the Gear VR, Daydream View, or upcoming Oculus Go don't have spatial tracking, meaning that users aren't able to move around in 3D space.
Many companies are still trying to make VR happen, though it feels like those couple of years when 3D TVs were being pushed and then completely disappeared. If you ask me, there's merit to the immersive experience of VR in certain situations, but the wider and easier adoption will be for AR when it's commoditized. But I digress. We've been keeping an eye on HTC's VIVE and Oculus for a while, even though they're not technically related to Android, but for the sake of information here are the two companies' CES 2018 news.
Google tried to create some buzz for its Daydream VR platform at its I/O developer conference back in May, even though public appetite for the tech seems to be waning. Standalone headsets were announced as the next evolution of the Daydream experience, but since then it's all gone rather quiet. We now know that HTC has canceled its plans to release a standalone Daydream headset, and is instead concentrating its efforts on China with a different standalone headset and development platform.