What’s next after the iPhone? Internationally acclaimed designer Philippe Starck has the answer with his radical new voice-controlled concept called Alo
If legendary French designer Philippe Starck has anything to do with it, our future smart phones will be even more stylish than they are right now. The designer, who has just released his latest concept smart phone, created a concept that is as stylish as it is functional.
This futuristic iteration is a collaboration between Starck, designer Jerome Olivet and electronics firm Thompson. Called ‘Alo’, it is light years away from the rectangular tablets we carry around at the moment. It’s elongated in shape, designed to fit in one’s hand.
Interestingly enough, Alo doesn’t have a screen of any kind, and certainly not a touch-sensitive one: instead it projects 3D holograms of what you are used to seeing on a screen, including messages, movies and images. The phone’s functions are all voice-activated; responding to voice commands, the phone reads SMS messages and emails, and you can dictate your replies instead of typing them. The camera is so sensitive that it can identify faces and also read new messages as they come in.
With a center of molded aluminum alloy, Alo has a pliable casing that provides feedback through heat and vibrations. The phone is a complete departure from what we are used to, but the voice control is something that has been bandied about in other forms for a while. Of course, this phone is very smart and can recognize speech at a level that is unprecedented. While it is just a concept at the moment, there is talk of creating a prototype with French electronics company Thompson.
This is not the first time that Philippe Starck has been involved in designing smart phones. His first, the Mi Mix, was created for electronics firm Xiaomi. Although it resembled current smartphones with its rectangular shape, it did boast an almost-edgeless display screen that covered 90% of the phone’s surface on the front.
Alo, with its crescent-shape that fits into the palm of one’s hand, is created for the time when voice activation is so advanced that there is no need for buttons or touch screens. It’s been called “the iPhone for a post-iPhone world”.
One thing is certain. The Alo doesn’t resemble any smart phone we’ve ever seen. This unique concept is just the start of what lies ahead. Just the tip of the iceberg of what to expect with future smartphones.