You might have heard of smartphones with foldable screens, pop-up cameras, or even holographic displays. But have you ever imagined a smartphone without any display at all? Sounds impossible, right? Well, not anymore. Meet the world’s first displayless smartphone, a revolutionary device that uses sound and touch to communicate with the user.
The displayless smartphone is a concept developed by a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, who wanted to create a more natural and intuitive way of interacting with technology. The device has no screen, no buttons, and no ports. Instead, it relies on a combination of bone conduction, haptic feedback, and voice recognition to provide a seamless and immersive user experience.
The device consists of two parts: a cylindrical core that contains the battery, processor, microphone, speaker, and sensors; and a flexible band that wraps around the user’s wrist, hand, or arm. The band is made of a smart material that can change shape and texture according to the context and user input. For example, the band can form a dial pad for making calls, a keyboard for typing messages, or a joystick for playing games. The band can also vibrate or heat up to convey different types of information or emotions.
The core uses bone conduction technology to transmit sound directly to the user’s inner ear, bypassing the eardrum. This way, the user can hear the device’s voice assistant without wearing headphones or disturbing others. The voice assistant can perform various tasks such as making calls, sending texts, checking emails, browsing the web, playing music, or accessing apps. The user can also talk to the device using natural language commands or gestures.
The displayless smartphone is still in the prototype stage, but the researchers hope that it will open up new possibilities for human-computer interaction and social communication. They believe that the device will offer a more personal and intimate way of using technology, as well as a more accessible and inclusive one for people with visual impairments or other disabilities.
The displayless smartphone is not the first attempt to create a screenless mobile device. In 2020, a YouTube channel called What The Fact claimed to have developed a displayless smartphone that used holograms instead of screens. However, this turned out to be a hoax and the video was later removed. The history of mobile phones dates back to the 1940s when wireless telephony was first tested on trains in Germany . The first commercially available cell phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, launched in 1983 . Since then, mobile phones have evolved from bulky and expensive devices to sleek and powerful smartphones that can do almost anything.
The displayless smartphone is the latest innovation in the field of mobile technology. It challenges the conventional notion of what a smartphone should look like and how it should function. It also raises some interesting questions about the future of communication and interaction in the digital age. Will we ever need screens again? How will we adapt to a more natural and sensory way of using technology? And how will this affect our social relationships and identities?
These are some of the questions that the displayless smartphone invites us to explore. Whether it will become a reality or remain a concept is yet to be seen. But one thing is certain: it is a fascinating idea that deserves our attention.