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Meizu Unveils a Smartphone That Does Not Have Any Port, or a SIM Card Slot, or a Button, or Speaker Grill (phonedog.com)
Phone maker Meizu has announced a new phone called "Zero," which doesn't have a headphone jack, or a charging port, or a physical SIM card slot, or any buttons, or a speaker grill. From a report: It doesn't even come with a SIM card slot and buttons you'd usually see on a phone -- the only elements that disturb the surface of its all-display, 7.8mm-thick ceramic unibody are its 12MP and 20MP rear cameras and two pinholes. One is a microphone, while the other is for hard resets. To make up for the lack of ports, Meizu Zero will support Bluetooth 5.0 and a wireless USB connectivity that will reportedly be able to transfer files as fast as the USB 3.0 standard can.
Zero's 5.99-inch QHD OLED screen will act as some sort of a giant speaker and earpiece replacement. It does have a big enough bezel for a 20MP front camera, but its fingerprint reader is completely on-screen. The device, which is powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor, relies on 18W wireless charging due to the lack of a charger port. And it may not have the usual physical buttons, but it does have pressure-sensing ones with haptic feedback on its borders.
Zero's 5.99-inch QHD OLED screen will act as some sort of a giant speaker and earpiece replacement. It does have a big enough bezel for a 20MP front camera, but its fingerprint reader is completely on-screen. The device, which is powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor, relies on 18W wireless charging due to the lack of a charger port. And it may not have the usual physical buttons, but it does have pressure-sensing ones with haptic feedback on its borders.
in impossible to repair, glued and welded shut non-user servicable hardware.
Apple would be proud.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Meizu Unveils a Smartphone That Does Not Have Any Port
No 3,5 mm audio jack?!?!? ... blasphemy ...SACRILEGE!!!!!
The most courageous company of them all. They make Apple seem like that kid who hides in the corner and wets themselves.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The ultimate in courage!
It's almost as if you didn't make it to the second sentence of the summary before posting.
No sig today...
It does have a reset hole.
One idea of smartphone which would be nice would be one that you used a paper clip to push a release button, similar to the SIM card tray in iPhones, but would allow you to pop the phone open, replace the battery, add/replace one of two SIM cards, add/replace one of two MicroSD cards. This way, you have the same zero-hole look... but you still have full repairability.
Acutally, I have three criteria for a smartphone:
1) Headphone Jack
2) User-replaceable Battery
3) Rootable / Flashable
I'm okay with some disassembly for #2, for example my samsung tablets have batteries that CAN be replaced with a little tinkering, and that's good enough for me.
#3 is trivially easy with 99% of smart phones.
So, that leaves #1 as the sticking point. I refuse to listen to music using cheap-ass bluetooth "headphones." None of them are any good at all.
No headphone jack, no sale. Period.
No SIM slot = big brother phone.
No USB port = No jailbreaking / removing surveillance software
This phone is a tool of Chinese oppression, and nothing more.
I've never seen any wireless USB devices. Has anyone actually used one and how well does it work compared to wired USB?
I actually almost thought it didn't have a screen either. Then it'd be called the cell brick. In all seriousness thou, if they aren't going to bother with replaceable battery then missing most ports with the exception of usb might actually be an advantage. You technically don't need speaker grills if you can integrate the piezoelectric speakers into or onto the surface. Probably wouldn't result in great sound quality.
it may not have the usual physical buttons, but it does have pressure-sensing ones
Because it doesn't protrude they can get away with their marketing gimmick. But it still has switches. And behind the reset pinhole is - another switch! Now if only they managed not to include a screen, make it completely voice controlled, and it can easily adhere to your shirt...
Apple can still beat them - apparently, it still has a hole for the microphone and another for hard resets. Come on Apple, you can beat that!
The distinction between this phone and Apple's latest is that if you want a phone that runs Android, you have other options with all the ports.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
I see a lot of complaints, but this really isn't unreasonable for many people. Let's take the various points one-by-one:
* No headphone jack.
I never use headphones with my phone, so it's not an issue for me. Many people only use Bluetooth headphones, so it's not an issue for them. Yes, it does eliminate people who really want to use their old headphones. Yes, this is a market-restricting decision.
* Wireless charging only
If you've switched over to wireless charging already, this isn't a big deal. It does mean you're out of luck if you suddenly need to charge when traveling and all you have is a USB port unless you start bringing a wireless charger with you, and that's a pain. We're heading towards the day when wireless charging pads will be as common as USB ports, but we're not there yet. This is a bit ahead of its time, but once Starbucks and the like all have wireless charging pads in the tables, this may become standard.
* No data port.
While the port is the same as the charging port, using the USB port for data transfer is a completely different use, so it should be discussed separately. I can't think of the last time I used a data cable with a phone except when manually installing firmware (which was last week). There's really no reason to expect normal users to need a data cable.
* No SIM card
Well, obviously it has a built-in SIM card, so this is really no removable SIM card. In all the years I've owned a cell phone, I've only needed to move the SIM card once, and that was because the provider didn't send a new one with the new phone. I don't think many consumers care one bit about this. Yes, it is a big issue for international travelers who will want to switch cards.
* Battery, SD Card
This has been beaten to death with other phones already.
Ultimately the question is what do they gain by removing all this stuff. It makes the phone less expensive to make. It may make the phone more reliable. It may make room for the phone to be smaller or have a larger battery. None of that really matters to me.
So the removed features don't bother me much, but I also don't see the advantage for me.
lots of currage.
Now if only they managed not to include a screen, make it completely voice controlled, and it can easily adhere to your shirt...
This made me realize that Picard probably knew everyone's browser history because everyone in Starfleet had an always-on badge.
...wiil have neither the mic hole, nor the reset button, and it will be indistinguishable from a brick.
That would be great. You could fit a 5 pin DIN connector next to that plug.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Extra bonus points if you can figure out a way to integrate a vacuum tube headphone amp. I'm sure you'd till have an audiophile whining because a LiPo based power supply doesn't have the dynamic range of a true AC/DC power supply.
I feel like the screen is really breaking the perfection of design they are aspiring to. They should remove the screen then it will be smartphone nirvana.
Does it have a power button, or do you just wait for the battery to go dead? Using the touchscreen to turn something on means the touchscreen needs to constantly be drawing power...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
It's a suppository!
Early cell phones did not and they worked just fine. The "Jitterbug" series that's marketed at "old people" (it's a valid niche market, but way overpriced for what you get).
There are other niche markets for a screen-less phones and camera-less phones.
Blind people don't need a screen, so why bake that into the cost? They do need a camera for things like "what is this?" apps.
In some high-security environments you need a phone but you need to prohibit cameras.
Personally, I'd like to have the phone/computer in my pocket or someplace hard(er) to steal from than my hand, with a generic interchangeable "user interface box" that has the screen, mic, speaker, camera, and buttons. If I dropped my "user interface box" and it broke, I could just buy another one or borrow one while mine got repaired.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Well here my post sits, way down at the bottom where it will never get read, but..
This device really makes sense to me. This is what I've thought would happen eventually ever since cell phones became a thing. In fact, they ought to go even further.
Right now, we're stuck on the idea that our screen, RAM, storage and OS have to be wedded together in one package. Want a better screen or newer OS? Is there a new network protocol? Gotta throw the whole thing away. That's crap!
I would LOVE to have a powerful, generic (and upgradable) processor/storage/radio package in my pocket, knapsack or attached to my belt or armband, with my own choice of wireless input/output devices. Sound will come and go from a bluetooth earpiece/headset. If I want to use a wireless touchscreen or heads-up glasses, I can purchase my choice from any vendor. Powergloves, if I'm so inclined. If I break something, I won't have to throw out the whole collection. If a wonderful new OS or display comes out, again I won't have to throw out the whole collection.
And my processor/storage module could plug into a desktop-sized workstation when I'm not on-the-go. If it's not actually performing the heavy work, it's carrying my identity or brokering the secure connection to it in the cloud.
You'll say "but that's all been done before!", true. But the industry has worked hard to keep us buying fondleslabs that are obsolete almost as soon as we buy them. Marketing has presented a false picture of reality (no surprise there). The devices' OS are crippled so that you have to purchase a service to do something the hardware could easily do on it's own (tell me again why I'm paying T-Mobile $15/mo to enable my own home wifi?).
And the crazy thing is, people will probably buy incremental upgrades even more often because they'll be cheaper, more-convenient investments than replacing their whole iOS/Android device regularly. The auto industry makes more money selling us tires and brakes instead of forcing us to replace the whole car when these things wear out.
The name is perfect, though. Zero is the amount of money they'll ever get from me for such a design; zero is the amount of interest I have in anyone else imitating them; zero is the amount of respect I have for the company for choosing this path; and zero is the score I give the designers for coming up with this in the first place.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
How about a legit flagship phone with a removable battery?
A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
Simplify, simplify, simplify. Why 12 buttons? Can't you do it with just one? And why even a button? How about just a dial. You drag the dial around to a fixed position. The degrees of rotation indicates the character. Done!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
If it doesn't have any of those things it oughta be cheaper .. am I right? Or is it like diet food where they give you less and charge you more for it?
While this form factor is uninteresting to me due to lack of USB-C, headphone, sim card and micro-sd, I do appreciate the notchless bezel solution. I like the symmetry of equal sized bezel top and bottom, and who needs a gigantic front camera?
I hope this bezel/camera solution becomes a trend. Just can't get over the notch ugly factor.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.