What you need to know
- The HTC Desire 22 Pro is a new mid-range phone from HTC that retails for £399 and ships on July 1 to Taiwan and August 1 to the UK.
- The phone ships with full compatibility with the Vive Flow and comes preinstalled with HTC's crypto wallet.
- HTC is also offering a £763 bundle that includes a Vive Flow headset, pair of earbuds, and a case, which is a 15% total discount.
HTC is back in the phone game with the HTC Desire 22 Pro, a new mid-range phone that retails for £399 and ships on July 1 to Taiwan and August 1 to the UK. The phone is advertised as fully capable with the future of the metaverse, including full compatibility with HTC's latest lightweight VR headset and the company's own Viverse metaverse.
HTC says you won't need a Vive Flow in order to visit the Viverse, though, as the phone's built-in web browser is 100% compatible with the platform. That sort of metaverse definition is similar to what Meta unveiled last Fall, which essentially creates a virtual world layered atop the physical world and can be accessed via several different types of devices, from the best smartphones to VR headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 or HTC Vive Flow.
As a mid-range phone, you shouldn't expect mind-blowing specs from the HTC Desire 22 Pro. It's got a modest 6.6-inch FHD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 695 5G SoC, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, support for microSD cards, triple cameras on the back with a 64MP main camera, 4,520mAh battery, wireless charging support, and even includes an IP67 water and dust resistance rating. The phone launches with Android 12 but HTC didn't specify its update commitment with the announcement.
The Desire 22 Pro seems to be a low-key follow-up to its previous crypto phone, as the Desire 22 Pro is preloaded with HTC's Vive Wallet crypto wallet technology. This makes managing cryptocurrency, NFTs, and any other blockchain-related tech easy as opening a single app. It's also got HTC's Viverse app preloaded, which makes it possible to easily manage virtual avatars and other Viverse content. You can preorder the Desire 22 Pro at HTC's website right now.
