The professional cinema camera makers for Hollywood, RED announced last month about the news that the company was making a smartphone with a holographic display. The phone was revealed with only a basic information about the display and some audio.
A phone with a holographic display that would cost from $1200 to $1600 led many to take it as just a joke. Will a company like RED give a hoax about something which is not completely impossible? Why would people think it as joke anyway?
Here’s the first hands-on with the Hydrogen One by Marques Brownlee of YouTube also known as MKBHD. This is a prototype device which is not function but the final smartphone will not look different than this. The famous technology reviewer at YouTube published a little session of his hands-on with the prototype device with the caption “RED Hydrogen One is real”.
We all know that there will be two models of Hydrogen One – aluminium variant will cost $1,195 and the titanium variant will cost $1,595.
Looking at it in big picture, the Hydrogen One is larger than the iPhone 7 Plus and One Plus 5 as you can tell by the screen grab below taken from the video. The RED’s phone is also wider than the two besides it.
Even just a quick look on the back of the Hydrogen One can tell that its design is way beyond the most of the smartphones out there. It’s a mixture of metal and Kevlar panel with a large rounded dual-camera module – more like we have seen on Lumia 1020 and later on a few more smartphones. There are four screw locations on four corners as well which are very unlike the ones we have seen on a smartphone ever.
Down on the back, a red logo is as prominent as the camera module on top. Further down closer to the edge we can see an array of pins for modular accessory attachments.
The front of the phone seems to have a flat screen with with speaker grills on top and bottom bezels which are not covered by glass unlike many phones we see today. The display, as reported officially, is 5.7-inch while the top and bottom portions seems to host speaker as the grills are apparent.
Brownlee, in the video footage, tells that he was not allowed to show the real thing “holographic display” but they showed it to him and allowed you to catch the first impressions on his face in the video while he’s experiencing the display technology.
The tech guide, RED offered you to look at, explains that the holographic display is just an option for you. You will be able to turn it off and use the Hydrogen One with just a regular 2D display.
Brownlee was also provided to look at the bulky camera modular accessory fitted onto the phone. This accessory is a snap-on lens and sensor which will allow the Hydrogen One capture better quality images competitive to the high-end mirrorless cameras.
The sides of the smartphone are grooved to support fingers. On the one side the phone hosts a power button and dedicated RED camera button for still and video recording while the volume buttons are on the other side. Fingerprint scanner will be embedded into the power button. The phone will feature a USB Type-C connectivity and a 3.5mm audio jack as well.
Watch full video below
There’s still a lot about the Hydrogen One that we do not know yet and we can not indeed before an actual product comes to life in a complete working condition. We have also seen modular phones for a couple of years now, LG has made 3D display that didn’t require you to wear glasses.
What we know about RED’s Hydrogen One is that the company has just told you that it’s something which is under production right now and will reach the market in early 2018.
