Budget smartphones released by South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung will reportedly feature cryptocurrency and blockchain features, local English-language local media Business Korea reports on May 14. Per the report, the crypto and blockchain-related functionality included in the Samsung S10 will be included in other Galaxy smartphone models. The electronics producer also reportedly plans to cooperate with telecommunications companies on blockchain-based mobile identification cards and local currencies. Chae Won-Cheol, senior managing director of the product strategy team at Samsung Electronics' Wireless Business Division, reportedly said: “We will lower barriers to new experiences by gradually expanding the number of Galaxy models …

Consumer electronics giant High Tech Computer (HTC) is rolling out in-wallet cryptocurrency trading for users of its Exodus 1 smartphone, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 14. HTC, which this week announced a low-cost version of its blockchain smartphone would appear around Q3 2019, now allows Zion Vault users to swap between various cryptocurrencies. The feature comes as a result of a partnership with Kyber Network, a dedicated platform for cross-token trading solutions. Swaps involve a selection of Ethereum (ETH)-based ERC-20 tokens, including basic attention token (BAT), kyber network (KNC) and dai (DAI), and removes the …

Consumer electronics giant High Tech Computer (HTC) announced the Exodus 1S smartphone with bitcoin (BTC) full node capability in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 11. In the press release, the company claims that the value-oriented version of the smartphone will be released at the end of the third quarter of 2019. Building on the first generation of the company’s blockchain smartphone, Exodus 1, HTC claims that it will be the first smartphone to provide full node capability. The release states that the phone will contain the full Bitcoin blockchain and allow for a trustless user experience since …

Taiwanese consumer electronics giant HTC has revealed plans to launch a second-generation model of its blockchain-centric smartphone before the end of 2019. The news was announced in a report from English-language Asian IT news source Digitimes on April 29. According to HTC’s chief decentralized officer Phil Chen, the development is a bid to boost smartphone sales and expand the company’s blockchain ecosystem. As previously reported, HTC first unveiled plans for its blockchain-focused smartphone, dubbed “Exodus,” in spring 2018, launching the product later that year. Chen revealed that sales performance for the first-generation Exodus phone had met the company’s expectations, noting …

South Korea’s largest car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Group, will use blockchain in its new tech for pairing electric vehicles (EVs) with smartphones. Sustainable mobility-focused news agency Green Car Congress reported on the development on April 22. Hyundai reportedly announced development of smartphone-EV pairing based performance adjustment technology that allows users to customize primary functions via a smartphone application. In the claimed industry-first, Hyundai will reportedly implement blockchain technology to prevent security issues while users upload and share their custom settings on the server. As such, the upcoming system is set to encrypt major performance parameters on a blockchain network by …

This article has been updated to include an official response from Sirin Labs. Blockchain smartphone startup Sirin Labs laid off a quarter of its workforce, Israeli business media Globes reported on April 15. Per the report, the startup admitted to having laid off 15 of its 60 employees and having overestimated the sales of their Finney blockchain smartphone. A spokesperson for the company reportedly said that it will now focus on software development and distribution. When contacted by Cointelegraph for confirmation, Sirin Labs noted that the crypto markets has led to many companies changing the size of their staff: “All …

The new Galaxy S10 series smartphones by South Korean tech giant Samsung will apparently have wallet functions for Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC) and two other tokens. A Samsung official spoke about the phone’s new features at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 25. In its presentation, Samsung revealed various crypto and blockchain related projects featured on the smartphone, including support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, COSMEE token (COSM) and Enjin’s token (ENJ). COSMEE is a blockchain-enabled mobile beauty decentralized app (DApp) where users can earn and spend COSM tokens. Enjin is a cryptocurrency wallet which will reportedly be installed …

Blockchain-centric smartphone Exodus, developed by consumer electronics giant HTC, announced that it has partnered with web browser Opera as well as added support for multiple DApps. The news was revealed in a series of tweets on Feb. 26 from the firm’s official Twitter. The company announced support for Etheremon and Decentraland DApps in its ZIONVault integrated cold storage. Moreover, according to a Verge report, the smartphone now also supports a Taiwanese DApp called Numbers. Numbers reportedly tracks user data and allows users to sell their data to third parties for cryptocurrency while retaining both control over the data that is …