vivo lets people touch - but not see - its button-less, port-less APEX 2019

21 January 2019
Described as "metal soap", the phone will be completely smooth - no USB ports, no hardware buttons, nothing of the sort.

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  • s
  • s-pen pusher
  • PMT
  • 22 Jan 2019

AnonD-558092, 22 Jan 2019There are new computers shipped without such wireless capab... morefair enough; and i understand there are even further developments in gigabit ethernet protocols. let me just say though that our inevitable future is wireless, i'm pretty sure no one can refute that these technologies are fast catching up with wired technologies. again, i was just responding to the dude who was complaining about slowness of bluetooth in file-transfer, that wifi-direct would address it. there was no need to belittle people here.

    • s
    • s-pen pusher
    • iny
    • 22 Jan 2019

    this is exciting. while most tech companies are overly excited by the prospect of foldable screens, here you have an only recently established brand leapfrogging its giant peers by proposing and aggregating more practical technologies. this design is not new as we have seen this in sci-fi, of course, but realizing the technologies to allow this are already here and then coming up with a design is definitely laudable.

    doubts will always be there for new things. i am doubting about durability of such a design as from previous leaks reported the front will have the screen wrapping into all 4 sides. this still makes much more practical sense though than foldable screen.

      Until I can see the device I'm going to believe whatever is in the box is a literal metal soap bar.

        • D
        • AnonD-558092
        • 45}
        • 22 Jan 2019

        s-pen pusher, 22 Jan 2019i hardly encounter people still using those kinds of comput... moreThere are new computers shipped without such wireless capabilities since there's normally a superior Ethernet connection available. Desktops, workstations and gaming desktops are such computers.

          The idea of a Button less device is not good actually . Users may face trouble in using it as a daily driver but the device is not yet revealed so let's see what happens.

            • s
            • s-pen pusher
            • PMT
            • 22 Jan 2019

            travstr, 22 Jan 2019I was more getting at the fact you can't plug your phone an... morethere is an existing protocol for allowing wireless connection such as bluetooth and wifi-direct to function pretty much similar to a USB terminal; as far as i know it works only on linux and being that android is based on linux kernel there is a big chance this could be supported in the future. the upcoming fuchsia os purported to replace android is not based on linux though, so i am not sure how this will work out.

            i agree apple is the best with haptics technology, but they don't own the license for it, so it could be licensed to other oems as well. or better yet, haptic feedback is really overrated. i mean i always turn it off on my devices because, well, proponents of it argue that it helps reassure you that the device has registered your tap/press but then again isn't visual feedback enough? it's just me though.

            i agree with wireless charging being behind in speed compared to wired. perhaps vivo can address this by equipping the device with big enough battery to last it all day so it only needs recharging at night. then with headphones, the issue is not just about having to charge it; those who prefer the 3.5mm headphone jack say it sounds better compared to bluetooth stream. i cannot confirm this myself as for at least 4 years now i have been using only bluetooth to stream music from my devices to headphones i have had and my audio system at home, so i guess i have forgotten how wired connection sounds like.

              • s
              • s-pen pusher
              • PMT
              • 22 Jan 2019

              AnonD-558092, 22 Jan 2019There are computers without a WiFi/Bluetooth network card. ... morei hardly encounter people still using those kinds of computers. well at least for the last 3 years i have been working as a technical support for an internet provider. we're talking about future-proofing here and you are going backwards. the other person i was responding to was talking about bluetooth, which is not exactly available with those "cardless computers" that you brought up.

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                • AnonD-558092
                • 45}
                • 22 Jan 2019

                AnonD-762416, 22 Jan 2019CRT had several advantages for a long time. Refresh rate, v... moreWell, this means that CRT had advantages, but not anymore as present tech has evolved.
                But port and port-less aren't tech

                  • D
                  • AnonD-558092
                  • 45}
                  • 22 Jan 2019

                  s-pen pusher, 22 Jan 2019no. i am in tech support though, so i am not sure what you ... moreThere are computers without a WiFi/Bluetooth network card. Just a RJ45 (Ethernet) and USB ports. No WiFi Direct.

                  You'd think someone working in Tech Support would know that. Then again, I've seen pretty dumb Samsung Tech Support representatives so I'm not surprised

                    s-pen pusher, 22 Jan 2019no. i am in tech support though, so i am not sure what you ... moreYou're in tech support and you don't understand "wireless network card-less" as in lacking the wifi adapter/card?

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • IV8
                      • 22 Jan 2019

                      The only hole left will be the microphone and the speaker.. Mi mix managed a speaker using vibration without any holes.. It is probably not far to reverse it to make a hole-less microphone that sense through vibration.. Only then will we have a truly smooth closed system sealed blackbox of magical technology.. Oh and obviously it will be waterproof.. Maybe now up to 100m like a G-shock

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • IV8
                        • 22 Jan 2019

                        About time.. I have thought of this since NOKIA introduced wireless charging in their Lumia series.. Now phones are truly cordless.. No charging port.. No data port.. No audio port.. ALL wireless.. WIFI, Bluetooth, NFC, IrDA, Wireless charging, GPS, and so on.. THIS is the only phone to be accepted for not sporting a 3.5mm jack.. The ONLY

                          • L
                          • Luxor
                          • IVR
                          • 22 Jan 2019

                          Apple is shaking. Vivo will be the first company to go portless and buttonless. They better include bluetooth earphone and wireless charger right out the box. The smoothest exterior on a phone. This could start a whole new trend in smartphone design in 2019. The next evolution of phone. Hahaha.

                            • s
                            • s-pen pusher
                            • PMT
                            • 22 Jan 2019

                            AnonD-558092, 22 Jan 2019Have you heard of Wireless_Network_Card-less computers? no. i am in tech support though, so i am not sure what you are talking about when you say "cardless computer". dude there was complaining about slow file transfer through bluetooth and i just informed him about wifi-direct, which any modern wifi devices (i.e. android devices, windows computers, etc) is capable of.

                              AnonD-762416, 22 Jan 2019Induction doesn't stop working just because a battery is co... moreI was more getting at the fact you can't plug your phone and tinker with it like you usually can, especially when it comes to roms.

                              yeah I agree it's the future but I don't think the technology is ready. apparently apple is the company that can do vibration well (the new Pixel 3 is pretty nice though), so the capacitive buttons will likely be a dud. take HTC's attempt as an example.

                              wireless charging will generally always be slower until we develop something better. also, having zero hardware options is something I don't think most people are very for. I always keep wired earphones in case my bluetooth ones aren't charged and sometimes it's just better to go wired.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-762416
                                • JbS
                                • 22 Jan 2019

                                AnonD-558092, 22 Jan 2019I'm fairly sure CRT has no advantages against LCD/LED. Poor... moreCRT had several advantages for a long time. Refresh rate, viewing angles, ghosting and many other things. LCD has evolved a lot since the 90's. It took quite a while until gamers started buying LCD. CRT did run concurrently with LCD for a decade. One of Sony's biggest mistakes was to cling onto CRT for too many years. Thinking it would always be better than LCD.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-558092
                                  • 45}
                                  • 22 Jan 2019

                                  AnonD-762416, 22 Jan 2019LCD didn't beat CRT on everything. OLED doesn't beat LCD on... moreI'm fairly sure CRT has no advantages against LCD/LED. Poor image quality, poor color reproduction, poor resolution, much thicker, more fragile...

                                  And AMOLED is running concurrently with LCD/LED/TN panels

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-762416
                                    • JbS
                                    • 22 Jan 2019

                                    AnonD-558092, 22 Jan 2019It can't be the future if it has to make compromises. The f... moreLCD didn't beat CRT on everything. OLED doesn't beat LCD on everything. Yet, it's a no-brainer which ones were the evolutions.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-558092
                                      • 45}
                                      • 22 Jan 2019

                                      s-pen pusher, 22 Jan 2019have you heard about wifi-direct?Have you heard of Wireless_Network_Card-less computers?

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-558092
                                        • 45}
                                        • 22 Jan 2019

                                        AnonD-762416, 22 Jan 2019Induction doesn't stop working just because a battery is co... moreIt can't be the future if it has to make compromises. The future products are supposed to be objectively better in all aspects. I'm not going to buy something that offers me less than what I have currently.