This is the Uhans U300 smartphone, and it’s OK not to like it. In fact, the Chinese company isn’t bothered at all if you don’t. It’s a most unusual approach when we’re bombarded by phones (and many other products) that are rather faceless, or have had design flairs from early concepts removed to make them more marketable, easier to manufacture, and to have wider appeal.
“We know the design is controversial, and that we may lose many potential buyers who don’t care for this kind of design,” Uhans CEO Eric Wu told Digital Trends, continuing, “We design it for someone, not everyone. We don’t need everybody to love it.”
The U300 is the third model in Uhans “U for Unique” phone range. The previous models were controversial due to a visual similarity to Vertu’s luxurious, expensive smartphones. However, the new version’s design shifts away from this, but still retains an air of luxury appeal with rugged intention.
Wu continued, saying the U phone models, “Aren’t for the general market, but for the minority who’re looking for unique phones.” Again, it’s less about pleasing everyone, and more about carving out a niche. As a former car designer, Wu says when he conceived the U300, he wanted to bring BMW’s chic design and Mercedes-Benz’s commitment to luxury and safety to the mobile industry. Uhans believes this is an underserved, niche mobile market and that the U300 has got what it takes to attract buyers.
The specification for the U300 is still being finalized, but we do know it will have a 5.5-inch screen covered in Gorilla Glass 4, a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage space. The rear camera will have 13-megapixels, but there’s no word on the processor, the version of Android to be installed, or what materials will be used in the device’s construction. It’s expected to go on sale in November.
