RED, a high-end camera company, revealed more of its upcoming Hydrogen One smartphone by allowing YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee create a hands-on video featuring a non-functional prototype of the device.
The announcement of the Hydrogen One last month came as a surprise, as RED never showed signs of entering the smartphone market. After creating cameras that were used to film movies such as The Martian and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, RED will now look to make a splash in another industry with the Hydrogen One.
Hands-On With The Hydrogen One
The video uploaded by Brownlee gave a close look at what customers can expect from the Hydrogen One, previously stated by RED to have a 5.7-inch holographic display that will allow its screen to seamlessly switch between 2D content, 3D content, interactive games, and holographic multi-view content.
Unfortunately, how exactly the holographic display on the Hydrogen One will look like was not shown in the video. Brownlee, however, noted that RED showed him an early demo of the technology off camera, with the display showing a "crazy, deep, sort of 3D look" but definitely not yet perfect.
What is evident in Brownlee's hands-on video of the Hydrogen One is that the smartphone certainly does not resemble most high-end devices in the market. At the back of the smartphone, there is a combination of metal and Kevlar components, with a massive dual-lens camera and modular accessory pins near the bottom. According to RED, the base model of the Hydrogen One will use aluminum for its metal parts, while the premium model will use titanium.
At the sides of the Hydrogen One are grooves for individual fingers, along with the power button that also serves as the fingerprint scanner and volume buttons. There is also a dedicated button to start video recording, as RED stays true to its roots. At the bottom of the smartphone, one can find a headphone jack and a USB-C port.
The front of the Hydrogen One looks much more traditional than the back and sides, but still comparatively different to other smartphones. The display of the device is surrounded at the top and bottom with wide bezels, containing large areas for speaker grilles.
Brownlee was also able to test a modular camera accessory being developed for the Hydrogen One. The accessory snaps on to the smartphone to vastly improve the quality of its camera.
Will You Buy The Hydrogen One?
Without looking at its software and features, the Hydrogen One is already shaping up to be a smartphone that is vastly different from Apple's iPhone 8 and Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.
Like these two upcoming flagship smartphones, the price of the Hydrogen One breaches four figures, with preorders already open at $1,200 for the aluminum version and at $1,600 for the titanium version. It is far too early to tell if the device will be worth the price tag, but it does indeed hold potential.
