Camera manufacturer RED announces smartphone with ‘holographic screen’

RED, the manufacturer best known for its high-end cameras, has announced its first smartphone. The Hydrogen One should appear in early 2018 and will then have a ‘holographic screen’.

RED calls the Hydrogen One “the world’s first holographic media machine.” The manufacturer gives hardly any details about the ‘holographic screen’ in the announcement, but it is clear that it is a 5.7 “screen that can display normal 2D images and stereoscopic 3D content.

For the holographic display, the device uses RED’s Hydrogen 4-View images in the H4V format. The smartphone must apparently offer a look around depth and be able to provide virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality experiences without glasses. However, the manufacturer warns that the production capacity for the screens is limited.

The Hydrogen One runs on Android, which the company has equipped with ‘H3O algorithms’ to convert stereo sound into surround audio. In addition, there is an interface to add modular parts, in a way that seems similar to Motorola’s Moto Mods. RED alludes to the arrival of camera extensions, among other things. The Hydrogen One can also be connected to RED’s Scarlet, Epic and Weapon cameras, for example to serve as a monitor. The Android smartphone has a USB-C connection and a micro-SD card slot.

The RED device will be available in two versions: an aluminum version that will cost $1195, converted and with VAT, EUR 1267, and a titanium version that should appear for $1595. RED is already taking pre-orders but warns that inventory will initially be insufficient to fulfill all orders. In addition, prices can still change.