Five innovative smartphones and dumbphones that put design first
For this roundup, we've collected five smartphones and dumbphones with exciting designs, ranging from a phone with a robot arm to a keyboard phone built for messaging.
For many people, their phone is their most important piece of technology and has been tailored to suit their individual needs. But while the content of our phones is deeply personal, the hardware often feels homogenous and impersonal.
Lately, that's started to change, with technology companies developing phones with more innovative designs and adjustments for people's needs. Here, we've collected some of the most interesting examples from the past year.
Nokia 200 4G, 210 4G, 215 4G 2nd Edition and 235 4G 2nd Edition by HMD
Tech company HMD has released four retro Nokia brick phones, a design that many older mobile phone users remember fondly.
The new design, which has limited internet capabilities, combines the simplicity of the older phones with the functions needed today.
At the centre of the keypad, HMD added a large artificial intelligence (AI) button. This is voice-controlled and can be used to summon a chatbot assistant powered by Shenzhen company Sikey AI.
Find out more about the Nokia AI dumbphone ›
Infinix Note 60 Ultra by Pininfarina
Italian design studio Pininfarina is best known for its car design, but earlier this year it teamed up with Chinese technology brand Infinix to design its first phone.
The Note 60 Ultra has a sleek shape that was intended to evoke the feel of high-speed automotive design. The designers also aimed to get rid of, as much as possible, the "camera bump" to create a more aerodynamic look.
Find out more about the Infinix Note Ultra 60 ›
Clicks Communicator by Clicks Technology
Designed primarily for communication, the Clicks Communicator phone has a QWERTY keyboard on the bottom and was designed for people who enjoy the tactility of physical buttons. It was launched at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
The phone brings together a user's messages and emails on the home screen. It is also capable of making calls and running other apps, but was mainly created to let users see and respond to messages quickly, without being distracted by other functions.
Find out more about Clicks Communicator ›
The Light Flip brings back a popular old-school phone design – the clamshell-style flip phone. In Light's version, it comes in six colours and runs Light's intentionally stripped-back LightOS operating system.
Like Light's other technology, the phone was designed to be used as little as possible. It prioritises calling and is devoid of social media, games and other distractions.
Find out more about Light Flip ›
The Robot Phone by Honor features an articulating robot arm, which is topped with a gimbal-based 200-megapixel camera. It was designed to record more professional-looking video with pan and tilt functions that keep it level despite movement.
According to Honor, the robot arm will also help to form the basis for a more "human", expressive style of interaction with the phone, which was designed to incorporate new AI capabilities.
Find out more about Robot Phone ›
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