HTC Vive Phone Banking On Self-Expression, Not VR Technology In Leaked Promo Clip

HTC could be preparing a Vive-branded smartphone for its Jan. 12 event. This speculation comes from a recently leaked promotional video that showcases how the Taiwanese company wants to encourage individual styling for its handsets.

Just this week, famous leakster Evan Blass took to Twitter to share HTC’s promotional clip with his followers. In the clip, HTC points out how most of today’s handsets fail to make that impact or connect with their users. The video then shows how HTC is experimenting on different colors, materials and finishes to give its handsets an individual style that would match their owners’ preference.

According to 9To5Google, it’s clear in the video that HTC wants to make phones that are not just sporting a single solid color. The company yearns to design phone bodies with chemicals, super fibers and litmus to make them stand out and ensure that the handsets also function as a tool of self-expression.

Though the promo clip focuses on this designing technology, the last couple of seconds hint at the existence of an HTC Vive smartphone. In the final seconds, three smartphones could be seen lying flat on the surface. One of the units conspicuously sports antenna lines on all four sides. The HTC Vive name and the Vive logo could then be seen printed horizontally in the middle of the device’s back. Making this clue even more noticeable is how a hand chooses to grab the Vive phone and not the other two units in the frame.

Engadget reports that the brief appearance of the Vive-branded smartphone in the promo clip may suggest that HTC wants to make the most out of the popularity of its virtual reality headset. However, it isn’t clear what this Vive-branding could really mean for the handset. It’s also unknown how this device intends to compete with many high-end smartphones when it launches.

HTC is holding a special event on Jan. 12. If recent reports are right, the company is going to unveil the HTC Ocean at the event. A newly leaked video of the handset is currently making rounds on the internet, and it showcases the intuitive controls of the sides of the HTC Ocean, which is expected to debut as the HTC U Ultra.