As powerful as smartphones might be, they also have the potential to distract us from the more important things we need to do in life. Sometimes, that productivity does include plenty of reading on the go, which makes the smartphone convenient but also potentially harmful to ones’ eyes in the long run. These contradictory features and needs make the smartphone less than perfect with the common design it carries right now.
With some tweaking and imagination, however, it’s certainly possible to transform the smartphone into a more productive mobile computer. This concept, for example, tries to offer the best of all worlds by slapping an E Ink screen on its back for more comfortable reading, and a sliding mechanism that completely hides the cameras so you can enjoy both screens in their full glory.
Designer: Kii Jii
This isn’t the first smartphone design to put a second screen on the back for double the productivity. Most notably, the Yota Phone even dared to use an E Ink display that offers a more eye-friendly experience that also helps save battery life. After all, if all you want is to show a mostly static image or information, an E Ink screen won’t use up any battery until the content changes. It also happens to be a good way to read lots of text on the go, much like what the new breed of “eReader phones” are trying to do today.
What makes the inkPhone duo concept different is that it makes those two screens stretch from edge to edge, or at least almost edge to edge. There’s still a sizeable amount of bezels around them, but it might be possible to squeeze those out even further. There are no cutouts that give the illusion of hidden cameras either. Instead, the screens slide out to reveal the two sets of cameras, one for selfies and another for regular photos, that quickly get out of your way when no longer needed.
In theory, this would mean you get full-screen experiences both in color and in grayscale, depending on your need or preference. Need to do some “work” in full color? Use one side with the OLED display. Need a distraction-free reading experience that discourages social media scrolling because of its slow refresh rate and pixelated quality? The E Ink side is going to be your cup of tea. And when you do need to take pictures or jump on a video call, simply slide out the two halves and get the job done quickly.
In practice, however, the design could have a few gotchas that could get in the way of that nearly perfect experience. A sliding mechanism is an open invitation to mechanical failure down the road, and the camera lenses could get scratched over time due to friction. There’s also the matter of the temptation of distractions still within easy reach, making you just as unproductive as before.
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