Brave is HTC’s New Browser

Smartphone manufacturer HTC has chosen Brave to be the default web browser for its new HTC Exodus 1 phone. The co-founder of Brave, Brendan Eich had announced this partnership with HTC via a Tweet on December 8. However, the news was officially announced on December 10.

First Native Blockchain Smartphone

The HTC Exodus 1 claims to be the world’s first “native” Blockchain smartphone which is targeted at cryptocurrency fans. The Exodus 1 project had been announced initially in May of 2018.

This phone was featured at the yearly Slush conference that was held in Helsinki a few days ago where Phil Chen, HTC’s Decentralized Chief Officer, and Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin (LTC) spoke about the new device and its capabilities. Lee is working with HTC in the role of a consultant for the Exodus 1 project.

Both Chen and Lee highlighted the importance of data privacy as well as ownership. According to Chen, most of the data produced in the world today was owned by one of 7 companies. According to them, this new phone has been developed in response to such encroachments on people’s privacy.

Brave will also add to user privacy and allow users to control their data better, since it is an open source Blockchain based web browser and blocks website trackers as well as ads from its platform.

HTC will only accept cryptocurrency as a mode of payment for early access to this new phone. People interested in buying the Exodus 1 will have the option of paying in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or Litecoin (LTC).

One of the major design innovations of this phone is that the back of the phone has a clear glass backplate, so users can see the Exodus 1’s internal mechanism. The assumption is that this feature has been added to highlight the company’s focus on transparency.

Chen stated that HTC’s new device was not a compromise, but a better way to store cryptocurrencies safely and conveniently. Exodus 1’s crypto-asset interface that will handle users’ private keys, is called Zion, and it is a separate “enclave” in the phone, separate from its Android operating system.

Last Shot

HTC was founded in 1997 and is a Taiwan based electronics manufacturer. The company used to be the number one smartphone maker in 2010, however, since then, the company has lost out to giants such as Apple, Samsung and LG.

In 2014, HTC’s market share had dropped down to just 6% and in 2017, the company barely had 2.3% of the smartphone market. In 2018, HTC barely holds 0.5% of the smartphone market’s share.

Analysts are speculating that the Exodus 1 is HTC’s last shot at regaining a foothold in the smartphone market.