Nubia today introduced a new phone, but this device is a little different than what you normally think of when you think of a phone.
The Nubia Alpha is a device that Nubia is calling a "wearable phone". It features a 4.01-inch flexible OLED screen with a panoramic aspect ratio. The Alpha runs a custom wearable OS with voice commands and air gestures as well as support for multi-touch control when you just want to touch the display. Included are features that you'd expect from a wearable device, including activity tracking, notifications, heart rate monitoring, and more.
To the right of that 4.01-inch flexible OLED screen is a 5MP camera with an 82-degree wide angle lens. Inside is a Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 500mAh battery that Nubia says will get you one to two days of regular use or up to a week of standby on a single charge. Also included are Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and eSIM support.
The case of this wearable phone is made from stainless steel, is water resistant, and is available in black or 18K gold-plated finishes. Nubia says that the case has been stress-tested with more than 100,000 screen flexes.
The Nubia Alpha will launch beginning in April 2019. It'll be available in a Bluetooth version that'll cost €449 EUR ($510 USD) as well as an eSIM version with 4G support that'll launch in China in April, in Europe in Q3 2019, and in North America in Q4 2019. Pricing for the eSIM model will start at €549 EUR ($624 USD) for the black version and go up to €649 EUR ($738 USD) for the 18K gold-plated model.
Nubia's Alpha is an interesting device, getting you a larger screen than most wearables offer but because that screen has a panoramic form factor, you're not wearing a giant square or circle on your wrist. With that larger screen and the included camera, the Alpha is trying to be the sole device that you take when you go out, letting you leave your phone behind and lighten your load a bit.
What do you think of the Nubia Alpha?