A breath of fresh air in the mobile phone industry! A list of the weird smartphones that have let themselves go in recent years

A few days ago, a photo of Huawei’s executive director Yu Chengdong using a new phone in an airplane cabin caused a lot of discussion online. Sharp-eyed netizens discovered that Yu Chengdong was definitely using a folding-screen phone, which was obviously different from the common folding screens. Its inner screen was wider, and even two creases could be vaguely seen. So currently people on the Internet are saying that this is a new tri-fold screen phone that Huawei will launch in the second half of the year.

Whether this phone really exists and when it will be launched is obviously impossible to guess based on a blurry picture, but Yu Chengdong once revealed in a live broadcast of “Walking with Hui” that Huawei’s next-generation folding screen will be released soon after 5 years of research and development. “He even said that others can think of it, but can’t do it.

In terms of shape, the tri-fold screen is indeed quite special, but those who are familiar with the past of the mobile phone industry know that mobile phones in the past were not as homogenized as they are today. There were many unconventional designs at that time.

When foldable phones were not common, OPPO came up with a roll-up screen phone – OPPO X 2021. This concept phone is equipped with a 6.7-inch OLED flexible roll-up screen that can be expanded to 7.4 inches when unfolded.

Compared with traditional folding-screen mobile phones, the scroll screen has almost no creases and was once regarded as a future development trend of smartphones. However, like many concept products, this phone did not eventually go into mass production, which is quite regrettable.

Today, mobile phones with multiple rear cameras are no longer surprising, and the design does not deviate from the scope of technological aesthetics. However, if it is used on a product like Nokia 9 PureView, people with trypophobia should be careful.

Nokia 9 PureView is the world’s first mobile phone with five array cameras, plus a flash and laser focus sensor. This unique design looks very alternative both then and now, and the outside world has mixed reviews about it.

But to be honest, its photography was still remarkable in that year. The reason was that although it had 5 cameras, they had the same focal length, which was mainly designed to improve image quality. Obviously, this is different from the current popular full-focal-length multi-camera.

You think the curved screen is like this, but LG G Flex tells you, no, it is not “curved” enough.

As you can see, the LG G Flex not only has a curved screen, but also a curved cover, which deeply interprets what a true curved screen mobile phone is. When you first see such a product, you will feel more or less astonished. I believe many people are also curious about what kind of brain this designer has and how he could make such a strange product.

Like LG, Motorola’s product managers are not ordinary people. The appearance of mobile phones is generally designed according to the shape of the hand, so the length of most mobile phones is 2-2.5 times the width.

The Motorola ME511 (FlipOut) took a different approach and adopted a square design. At first glance, it looks very similar to today’s small folding phones, but its other half is not the screen, but the ancestral 46-key full keyboard. At the same time, its screen also adopts a rotating design, and even after more than ten years, it is still amazing.

As a major mobile phone manufacturer, Samsung has a lot of weird mobile phones, such as Samsung Galaxy Beam, a mobile phone with a built-in projector, which can project videos, photos, PPT or files in the mobile phone onto the wall or screen without an external video cable;

Samsung Galaxy Round is similar to the LG curved screen phone above, except that it is curved vertically inwards;

In addition, there is the famous Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, a mobile phone with a retractable lens. Through simple and crude lens extension, lossless long-distance zoom was realized ten years ago.

In addition to folding and scroll phones, there is another type of mobile phone that makes use of the screen, which is the dual-screen mobile phone, represented by Nubia X. The appearance of Nubia X is similar to current mobile phones, but there is an extra screen on the back, which can be used as a preview window for rear selfies. In fact, in addition to Nubia X, Meizu Pro 7 and ZTE AXON M have also used it. It can be regarded as a small attempt by manufacturers to not follow the mainstream in this era of homogeneity.

Above we have counted several unique products in the era of smart phones, but those who know a little about the mobile phone industry know that the real “oddballs” in the mobile phone industry came from the era of feature phones. To be honest, if the scope is expanded a little, the above products may not even qualify for the list.

at last:

Well, that’s all for this issue. If there’s a chance, I’ll also do an inventory of some quirky feature phones. Let’s review that wonderful era of uninhibited design and endless creativity, and appreciate the unique style of alternative design. See you next time.

Kazam

Kazam is Focused on creating and reporting timely content in technology with a special focus on mobile phone technology. Kazam reports, analyzes, and reviews recent trends, news and rumors in mobile phone technology and provides the best possible insights to enhance your experience and knowledge.