While Samsung mobile and Huawei revealed the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X smartphones with foldable display back in February, Chines smartphone sub-brand Nubia decided to bridge the gap with the release of the Nubia Alpha – a smartphone that wraps around a user’s wrist, to become a smartwatch and a fitness tracker. While many had thought the device will end at the concept stage, Nubia did announce in February that the Nubia Alpha will be released commercially in April.
Delivering on its promise, the firm has today confirmed that the wearable smartphone can now be pre-ordered, though it won’t formally go on sale until April 8. When the Alpha was announced back at the MWC, the ZTE sub-brand did hint that the wearable smartphone will launch in China, the US, and Europe at the same time, but so far information released suggests the device is going on sale from April 8 only in China. Specific details relating to the device’s availability in Europe and the States are yet to be confirmed.
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The Nubia Alpha gets all the features and functionality of a phone and wraps around the wrist like a fitness tracker when not in use as a conventional smartphone. It has a 4-inch 960×192 OLED screen which flushes with the strap when wrapped around your wrist. Other features include 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, 500mAh battery lasting 1-2 days on regular use, or a week on standby, a 5MP front-facing camera as well as Nubia’s own operating system, designed more as a wearable OS than a smartphone one.
The wearable phone is available in two variants – a Bluetooth and eSIM variants, but we are not sure which variant will be coming to China.