OnePlus 8T Concept back glass changes colour when you get notifications

OnePlus has unveiled its latest concept phone creation, and just like the last one, it's essentially an existing phone but with some intriguing features that may - or may not - ever make their way to a consumer product in the future. 

This particular phone is the OnePlus 8T Concept, and just one look at the rear glass panel is enough to convince you that this isn't quite the same as the regular OnePlus 8T. 

The entire back is covered in a pattern that looks like large swirling and shift blobs (a little like a lava lamp) but - similar to the last concept - these have been made from a special kind of glass that reacts to electronic signals. 

It has a colour-changing film containing metal oxide inside which turns the glass from dark blue to light silver when it receives the signal to do so electronically.

What that means in this instance is that whenever the phone receives a notifications, those big blobs shift colour and pulse. So if the phone is face down on your desk you'll still get a visual alert, but thanks to the other concept technology - an mmWave sensor - you can dismiss the notification by hovering your hand over the camera module. 

This sensor uses a similar technology to the mmWave tech used in certain 5G networks and works in a way that's very much like the Soli chip in the Pixel 3 smartphone from Google. 

It transmits and receives electromagnetic waves, and when it receives them - combined with the processing inside the phone - it can track and locate objects. 

In fact, it can also be held up to a person to track their breathing. It's an unusual application of the technology, but OnePlus demoed the feature that showed the glass shifting colour in time with a person inhaling and exhaling. 

The sad news is that the OnePlus 8T Concept won't ever be on sale publicly, this is very much just a concept showing some of the technologies it's been playing with over the past year.

Still, it's likely not long until we see the much-anticipated flagship OnePlus 9 series release, so OnePlus fans should have something to talk about again within the next few months. 

from Pocket-lint https://ift.tt/2WCCInq
via IFTTT