Unfortunately, just what a Vive phone means isn't clear right now. Is that a hint of support for Google's Daydream VR platform, or a custom approach to mobile VR? A special tie-in for Vive owners? Or just an attempt to use a familiar name? We'll know the full story soon if HTC unveils this device at its event, but even this brief hint is intriguing.

Update: As it turns out, this video has been around since June 2016, when an HTC videographer uploaded it to Vimeo. It's been public for half a year, in other words -- people just didn't notice it until now. It's since been taken down at its original home. This doesn't completely rule out the prospect of a Vive-badged phone or exotic materials, but this isn't the surefire leak it looked like at first. A lot can change in the space of half a year, too.

Also, we'd quickly note that HTC already has a mobile app store for VR, Viveport M. It just doesn't have the hardware, unless you count the Google Pixel XL's Daydream-ready design. That might have been what HTC had been planning for mobile VR, rather than a dedicated handset.