Let’s face it, smartphones are stuck in a bit of design rut. As much as manufacturers try to distinguish their devices one from another with the use of different materials, chamfered bezels, and various other small touches, most smartphones today all use a candybar slab form factor and share much in common. Flexible displays and other components promise to break that trend but we’re not quite there. But we can dream. Enter the Sero smartphone concept with its innovative circular design. Designed by Daniel Lau, it answers the question: What will mobile phones look like in 5 years time?
Introducing Sero with OS1 – where industrial hardware meets functional software. It is a concept phone that can be adapted to your individual needs with your most used icons growing the more you use them. Easily upgrade your handset via the quick-release button on the bottom of the device.
Aside from the unique shape, it also adopts the modular concept currently being championed by Project Ara. The main unit is inspired by the classic yo-yo and even lets users wrap their headphones around the center speaker. One of the two circular units can act as a dial for volume or zoom control as well as other functions in other apps. It also features a customizable LED notification ring, a 52MP camera with triple LED flash, a fingerprint sensor and a polycarbonate unibody construction with an aluminum dial. It only measure 19 millimters in thickness.
Its operating system, called OS1, sports features like app icons that grow the more they get used. To launch an app, one would simply drag it to the center.
The Sero can also be customized with a number of add-ons. Among them are a ProCam which would offer better optics and 4-in-1 camera lens functionality (including macro and fish eye lenses) and the ProSound offering better sound. A quick release button would make it easy to swap out the modules.
What do you think of the Sero? Is the world ready for the first yo-yo smartphone? Let us know below.
Sources : Daniel Lau Design // Yanko Design