Nubia Alpha Smartwatch With Foldable OLED Display Launched at MWC

MWC 2019 is a fair of firsts with foldable phones being unveiled, and now a first smartwatch with a bendable screen is on display. This one-of-a-kind wearable form ZTE's Nubia comes with an OLED flexible display, a camera, and eSIM support. The Nubia α (Alpha) wearable claims to come with most features seen on an Android phone. Specifications include a Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC, 1GB RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. The Nubia Alpha runs on a custom OS, and packs a 500mAh battery.

The Nubia Alpha is a smartwatch that sports a 4-inch (960x192 pixels) flexible OLED display. The company claims that this watch has 230 percent more screen real estate than the standard smartwatches out there. It's straps on like a bracelet, and lets users make and receive calls, take photos, and use apps. It also integrates the usual gamut of smartwatch sensors including the heart rate sensor. The wearable is on display at MWC 2019, and will be up for sale starting April.

The Nubia Alpha runs on a custom OS that helps in motion gestures. This helps in controlling the smartwatch by just doing gestures in the air, close to the device. The device has two knobs on the right edge for helping in navigation, supports 4G connectivity via eSIM, and has a stainless steel band in Gold and Black colour options.

It is powered by the Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC paired with 1GB of RAM. Internal storage is offered at 8GB, and it packs a 500mAh battery that claims to last a day or two (48 hours of standby time). The Nubia Alpha also supports a T9 keyboard for typing text, and has a built-in speaker as well. The camera houses a 5-megapixel 82 degree wide angle sensor with f/2.2 aperture. Nubia claims that the watch is water-resistant.

The Nubia Alpha will be available in two options - one will be the Bluetooth version which will pair with a phone, and another will be the eSIM version which will allow it to be a standalone option. The Black Bluetooth variant will be available in Europe and North America in April, and its average global price will be EUR 449 (roughly Rs. 36,200). The eSIM variant will be available in China in April for EUR 549 (roughly Rs. 44,300) for the Black colour options, and the 18K Gold variant will be priced around EUR 649 (roughly Rs. 52,400).

Nubia Pods

Nubia also launched Nubia Pods wireless earbuds alongside the Nubia Alpha smartwatch.

With Galaxy Fold, has Samsung kicked off a revolution in smartphone tech? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.