As reported by Korean news site IT Chosun Sunday (Korean source), LG is rumoured to be preparing its own blockchain-centred phones for launch.
Citing an industry source, IT Chosun revealed that LG is conducting research into Dapp and blockchain companies, including arranging meetings with several local Dapp developers. Although there is yet to be any sort of official announcement from the company, it is clear that if anything, recent actions in Korean have piqued LG’s interest in blockchain technologies.
In association with Ground X, a subsidiary of chat app company Kakao, Samsung announced a limited edition of the Galaxy Note 10. Dubbed the Klaytn Phone, the device comes with five Klaytn Dapps preloaded, as well as a crypto wallet. The apps will include not only support for the Klay token, but also typical major tokens.
Although the value in fiat is presently unclear, each customer purchasing a Klaytn Phone will receive 2,000 Klay tokens. The basic model of the Klaytn phone is priced at $1,169 USD, with the 512GB version going for $1,252 USD. As of yet, the phone is solely compatible with Korea’s SK Telecom network.
LG may very well join companies such as Samsung and HTC in the industry of blockchain-focused smartphones. HTC had previously released their Exodus smartphone ahead of the curb, which was marketed as privacy-oriented, with encryption to protect one’s electronic assets. As the present model was launched in October 2018, the Exodus 2 is hotly anticipated with expectations of updated hardware. Until then, the layman searching for a fresh blockchain-focused phone is out of luck, unless one happens to be Korean.
Regardless whether LG ultimately decides to enter the blockchain phone industry or not, the question remains: is a blockchain phone truly superior to a regular phone for crypto, or is it simply capitalization on a trend? Only time will tell if blockchain phones catch on, or remain a fad representative of the current crypto hype.