Vivo removes physical buttons on the side on Nex 3 smartphone

The Vivo Nex 3 smartphone will not have physical buttons on the side. This is evident from a teaser video of the phone. Instead, there are virtual buttons with haptic feedback, just like on the HTC U12+.

While the HTC has no physical buttons at all, the Nex 3 has a physical force-restart button on the top, according to the teaser video Vivo and British YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss made. You can create virtual buttons, for example, by placing a small touchpad instead of the button or by integrating pressure sensors on the locations of buttons. It is unknown which technique the manufacturer used. At the request of the manufacturer, the YouTuber does not share detailed specs of the device and does not mention a price.

Removing the physical buttons on the side is presumably necessary due to the use of the ‘waterfall screen’ that curls around the sides at an angle of 88 degrees. Vivo had previously announced that the Nex 3 would have such a screen. The phone is not the same as the concept phone without ports, because the device does have a USB-c port at the bottom and a 3.5mm jack at the top.

The phone supports 5G, which makes it obvious that Vivo will combine the Snapdragon 855-soc with a Qualcomm X50 modem. Samsung and Huawei also have 5G modems, but so far they have not been used in phones from other manufacturers.

Vivo released its first two Nex phones last year. The Chinese smartphone maker shares an investor with Oppo and OnePlus. Vivo phones are not yet available in Europe, but the manufacturer is preparing a arrival to Europe.