Foldable phones are cool because they can fit a
larger screen in your pocket. But what if the phone doesn’t have to go in the
pocket at all – what if you could fold it around your wrist and wear it like a
bracelet?
ZTE’s nubia brand has made that “if” a reality with
the nubia Alpha (also styled as nubia α). It’s a smartwatch with a 4” flexible
OLED screen, produced in a collaboration with Visionox. Since it aims for a
watch form factor, the screen is relatively narrow and quite tall – its aspect
ratio is 36:9 (960 x 192px resolution).
This is indeed a smartwatch, it’s powered by the
Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset with 1GB of RAM and 8GB storage (“enough for 1,000
songs” they say). It runs a custom OS and features motion gestures, AIM (Air
Interaction Mechanics). The 500mAh battery promises a day or two of endurance,
comparable to smartphones.
But it’s a phone too, the eSIM version has voice
calling and 4G LTE connectivity. The other version of this foldable smartwatch
connects to your phone over Bluetooth and to the Internet over Wi-Fi. If you do decide to go
phone-less, you can use the 5MP camera (f/2.2) for video calls and taking
photos. Just rotate your wrist to point the camera the right way, there’s
plenty of screen real estate to move the viewfinder and keep it in view.
The nubia Alpha is built out of stainless steel, the
display is coated in heat-resistant polyimide. The Gold version of the watch is
plated with 18K gold. Both versions are water resistant. The Alpha features the usual
fitness functions you'd expect from a smartwatch. It has a heart rate monitor
and can track your sleep.
The Bluetooth version of the nubia Alpha will launch
in April and it will cost € 450, available only in Black. The eSIM model will be €550, € 650 if you want the Gold version. China Unicom gets it first (in April),
then Europe (in Q3) and North America (Q4).
If you are going for a run, you may want to take the
nubia Pods along – the new truly wireless earbuds. These will be € 100 and will
be available globally starting in April.
