We’ve long wondered what mobile VR meant to HTC, and now we might know — a Vive-branded smartphone.
The Taiwanese smartphone maker is hosting an event titled ‘For U’ on January 12th. We didn’t think it would have much to do with its VR headset, the HTC Vive, especially after the bevy of reveals the company had in store for CES this week, but that might not be the case.
HTC 2017? pic.twitter.com/ppONWlT5Mr
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 8, 2017
As seen above, smartphone industry leaker Evan Blass tweeted what could be a video set to debut at the event. The clip outlines a possible new direction for HTC’s phone business in 2017 in which it releases more personalized phones that stray away from the traditional blacks and silvers we see in the current market. But here’s the really interesting thing: toward the end of the video there’s a shot of three new phones from the company. One of them carries the Vive branding on its back.
Could this be a VR-centric smartphone from the Vive makers? Will this simply be another high-specification phone that can support headsets like Google Cardboard? Or is this to be HTC’s promised Google Daydream-supported phone? 
How will the Viveport Mobile service play into the device? And does this mean the company has a mobile VR headset in the works too?
Clearly there are a lot of possibilities for this device. We’ve reached out to HTC for comment. Keep in mind the video could of course be a complete fake, though someone would have to go to a lot of effort to make it.
If it is real, then hopefully the company has a lot more information for us on the 12th than just this teaser.
