The foldable phone that turns into a bespoke clutch-style purse

印刷用画面を開く

Posted

Category: (Self-Study) Technology/Innovations

Switch to Watch View >

Storyline

Hide Storyline

Fashion has fused with tech in a new phone that can be worn like a handbag.

It’s the latest concept design by Chinese manufacturer Honor. Could this be the future of phones? The Honor V Purse is a mobile phone that folds up into a small clutch-style purse. Unlike other foldable phones, its screens are meant to be seen even when not in use – so they are on the outside. The so-called ‘always-on displays’ (AODs) can be changed and personalized to match the user’s outfit.

The V Purse was unveiled by Honor CEO George Zhao at IFA Berlin. Zhao says it doesn’t really matter that the bag can’t actually hold anything inside it. “It’s the right time for us to consider the Honor V Purse concept because within smartphones are integrated camera, credit card, ID, the boarding pass, almost everything and keys. So you do not need to bring too many things with you when you travel. So this is a pretty new experience today,” he says.

The phone is less than 9 millimeters when folded, thinner than many high-end phones currently on the market. Its internal gyroscope can sense motion and the display reacts accordingly. And they are also interactive – Honor even suggests users could have a digital pet that they can play with on the screen. The idea is they can be customized to each individual.

Even though the device is not going into mass production, Honor has still recruited a host of artists to come up with designs for the external displays. Among them is Mexican artist Yunuen who has a history of using augmented reality in her work. She has mixed the traditional Mexican decorative craft of ‘papel picado’ with tech to create her design.

So will we all be wearing our phones five years from now? Or is this just a way to grab some headlines in a crowded market? “How commercially viable they are is very, very questionable. But it’s great to grab the headlines at a point where all mobile phones essentially are looking the same. You have to do something different,” says Ben Wood, chief analyst of CCS Insight.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Script

Hide Script

[Honor V Purse, a concept phone than can be worn as a bag]

[Models modelling V Purses]

[George Zhao, CEO, Honor, on stage at IFA Berlin]

George Zhao (interview): “It’s the right time for us to consider the Honor V Purse concept because within smartphones are integrated camera, credit card, ID, the boarding pass, almost everything and keys. So you do not need to bring too many things with you when you travel. So this is a pretty new experience today.”

[V Purses with purple textured display]

[V Purse with panda digital pet on external display]

[V Purse with fish digital pet on external display]

George Zhao (interview): “Typically, we give our concept to the end consumer. For example, for wallpaper – our design, so our idea. But with the Honor V Purse we want to provide a platform. This is a platform you can put your most favourite photos, your design at the purse. So that’s why the end consumer joins the development. This also becomes their product.”

[Artist Yunuen looking at her design on a phone]

Yunuen (interview): “I think most of the time, the art and technology, they go parallel. And sometimes they begin a fight. But when art and technology have the same path, when they converge, they really create amazing things. And now for the purse, you can show your statement, you can send a message to others just in the palm of your hand.”

[V Purses on display]

Ben Wood (interview): “It’s always interesting to see these technology companies that like to intersect what they’re doing with fashion. This is not a new idea. This has been happening for the last two decades. You can look back at partnerships that Alcatel had with Versace, and Samsung did it with Armani. Other companies have had partners, LG with Prada, and I think they’re always great initiatives to grab the headlines. It gives you the opportunity to have a big showcase with a catwalk and roll out these new concepts. How commercially viable they are is very, very questionable. But it’s great to grab the headlines at a point where all mobile phones essentially are looking the same. You have to do something different.”

[Models modelling V Purses onstage]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.

Related Lesson: The foldable phone that turns into a bespoke clutch-style purse