Holographic smartphone project is leaving the market
RED is closing the Hydrogen smartphone project. From the very beginning, the declared feature of the device was that the smartphone screen had a holographic effect. As a result, the display could display a 3D picture from any angle. RED is known primarily as a manufacturer of professional video cameras, but in 2017 the manufacturer decided to expand its specialization and launched the Hydrogen One project to release a non-standard smartphone. The finished product was supposed to appear on the market at the beginning of 2018, but, as usual, the terms were shifted, and only in November the company presented the final version of its new development. The manufacturer estimated Hydrogen One at $ 1,300 , and the 5.7-inch display of the smartphone switched from normal mode to holographic.
The Snapdragon 835 processor became the basis of the smartphone. The Hydrogen One was equipped with a USB-C connector, a classic 3.5 mm audio port, and stereo speakers. In addition, the design assumed the possibility of expanding the functionality. On the back cover of the device there is a connector, with which an additional camera and other external modules could be connected to a smartphone. The manufacturer offered two options for using a smartphone when the "holographic" mode is active. In the first case, the device played video in 3D format. The second scenario involved the use of the device's features at the time of video conferencing, when, at the time of communication, Hydrogen One reproduced the image of the interlocutor in the form of a hologram. Despite all its uniqueness, Hydrogen One did not receive the popularity that the project team hoped for. In addition to criticism from experts, an important reason why the smartphone screen did not bring the expected level of sales was the considerable cost of the gadget. Among the future prospects of the project, the manufacturer called the release of a professional model equipped with a proprietary RED camera, but further plans, as it turned out, could not be fulfilled.
Back in the summer of this year, the project team announced the further development of the smartphone as part of the updated program, which included new developments for the gadget, some of which the manufacturer was going to patent. However, the circumstances were different, and the decision of the founder of the company to close the project remains unchanged. Nevertheless, the company will continue to officially support and release updates for the already released smartphone for some time. A number of specific characteristics of Hydrogen One are found in prototypes and finished products from other brands. For example, the ability to attach additional modules to a mobile device is available in the Motorola Z family. In addition, a prototype of a gadget was presented in Canada in 2016, where the smartphone screen also had a holographic mode. The display was equipped with several thousand wide-angle lenses, which provided a three-dimensional image. The Topic of Article: Holographic smartphone project is leaving the market. |
