Chinese phone manufacturer Nubia has begun teasing a new phone concept where the smartphone is also a hybrid smartwatch as well.
The hybrid phone was originally demoed at IFA in Berlin 2018 as a prototype but Nubia is now going to fully unveil the Alpha on February 25 at MWC in Barcelona.
So far not much is known about the Alpha in terms of display resolution, battery, or performance specifications. The phone is meant to replace a regular smartphone since it is able to call and even take pictures. It has a flexible OLED screen and sits in a metal watch strap with a plastic case around the phone as per the prototype.
The Verge even says that it will be priced around the same price as a regular smartphone when their writer asked the Nubia representative at IFA.
Nubia Alpha prototype images. Photo credits: The Verge
The unique design from the Nubia smartphone leaves me astonished. This risky design from Nubia will potentially inspire other electronic manufacturers to build a product based off of this layout, which will in turn bring even more interesting and unique products down the road.
I am not too confident that this watch-phone will break into the market like other smartphones. It has a very long screen, which means that mobile-app developers will have to plan to accommodate for the unique screen aspect ratio. By knowing software developers, many of them will not put in the time and money to work on adopting support for the elongated screen unless there is an overwhelming demand for it. Aside from that, I am confident that this device will revolutionize the future of how we will imagine our electronic products.
Tech Byte 