RED’s Hydrogen One smartphone will ship this summer
RED’s much-hyped Hydrogen One smartphone is edging ever-closer to market, according to an update from its creators. In a thread on the camera company’s reduser forums, the makers of the holographic-display phone have revealed pre-order will open “probably in April,” with an official ship date “sometime in the summer”. Details beyond this are vague, but according to the post carrier support for the phone is “unprecedented” and social media partners will include “big dogs.”
The update also included a reiteration of the phone’s specs. It’ll come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835x processor (unlocked or carrier specific), one headphone jack and a dual SIM slot. It’s also slated to be slightly bigger than other 5.7″ cell phones and slightly thicker. “Think SOLID,” writes co-creator Jim. The internal battery is also sizeable at 4500mA, although this isn’t a surprise given the phone’s 4V purpose.
This 4V — or ‘four view’ — tech is what makes the Hydrogen One exciting on paper. With it, the phone can handle normal 2D media, stereo 3D, augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality, without additional glasses or headsets. The company hasn’t been forthcoming in explaining how this will work, although it did offer a slightly bemusing description in its update: “The 4V files match the pixel resolution of a traditional 2D file, which is great for downloading. The resolution perception is just different. The horizontal resolution of 2D is now split into depth layers. It gives a completely different feeling. All the pixels are there… but instead of ‘looking at’ a pic, you are immersed in the image. It is quite spectacular.” RED is best known for its high-spec cameras, so if it pulls this off, it certainly will be quite spectacular. At least both skeptics and supporters will only have to wait a few months to find out.
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