Do You REALLY Need a Blockchain Phone?

So, since it’s wide and out in the open that Samsung has launched it’s blockchain phone; Galaxy S10, a lot of people have been discussing it. Is crypto-based phone a need or a luxury?

The crypto world is full of buzzword and if you eat away the creamy, marketing layer, you are bound to find innovation underneath it. And, blockchain phones are the chocolate chips you find this three layered cake.

Samsung is the second most sold phone in the market so for them to release a crypto phone, we know for sure that it will greatly benefit the crypt market. Samsung is now in the league with HTC, which for months has been endorsing the Exodus 1; Sirin Lab’s Finney; and Electroneum which began selling a $80 Android phone that can MINE cryptocurrency.

So what is the point? Will we start calling smart phones as crypto phones?

In the crypto utopia, these devices will be a gateway to a decentralized web, the Web 3.0. In this distant future version of the internet, the web would support decentralized applications, which will look and feel like the apps we use today however, they will be decentralized and public.

We are all familiar why iPhone rose to fame. Back when it released it’s first phone the technology was just easier to understand. Blackberry was deemed a business phone and one of the devices with the most difficult interface whereas iPhone on the other hand could easily be operated by a kid.

It is assumed that the main obtrusion that stands between cryptocurrency and it’s mainstream adoption is that these technologies are too difficult to understand and it can seem daunting to many. Better user experience could change that however, this is no child’s play as key security is crucial when it comes to cryptocurrency. You can’t have something that is easily penetrable.

Companies need to come up with creative ways to go around this problem. Recently, Vitalik Buterin appeared quite excited about a feature of HTC’s Exodus 1 called social key recovery.

M-of-N social key recovery in the @htcexodus "blockchain phone"

I've been a proponent of such things for a long time; really happy to see it implemented and look forward to seeing this feature get used more and hopefully see wider adoption in the crypto community. pic.twitter.com/S8wMBycLNw

— Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) January 19, 2019

Social key recovery allows you to choose a small group of contacts and give them parts of your keys. If you lose it, you can recover it by piecing all the pieces together. This idea reminded me of horcruxes and how Voldemort split his soul into different objects (called horcruxes) in order to be completely destroyed.

Voldemort is clearly angry that you stole his idea.

For now Exodus can be bought online for $699, on the other hand Samsung will hit a larger market but it is at the pricier end, starting at $900. Finney’s selling price is $999. And, Electroneum is targeting markets with a cheap handset.

The question remains; should you buy one? Well, if you having a liking and can afford it, it is a good way to start out. If you are looking to change phones then why not get one which offers cryptocurrency as well, just like Wired called Exodus 1 a “smartphone with a cryptocurrency side gig.”

But if you are already into crypto and have your trusty little wallet then this won’t offer you much. It is not a necessity yet, or won’t be till the time decentralized web becomes a reality.