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Really want to hide your phone? Vivo may be teasing a transparent one

In the ongoing quest to make phones more inconspicuous than ever, some smartphone manufacturers are going thinner while others are going, well, transparent. That is, if Vivo’s teaser advertisement is any indication of what’s to come. The Chinese phonemaker is the latest to suggest a new innovation in the smartphone realm, only instead of making a bendable phone or a waterproof one, it’s going for the see-through look.

Vivo-Transparent-phone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In a new product ad, a man (well, not just any man, but rather the popular South Korean actor and model Song Zhongji) is depicted holding what looks an awful lot like a transparent phone. You can sort of see the palm of his hand through the phone, though nothing else crucial is revealed in the teaser advert. That said, there are a number of references to the number “7,” which may foreshadow the name of the upcoming device. Of course, Vivo just unveiled a new lineup in April, so it’s unclear as to when we can expect this potentially transparent phone, or where it’ll live within the latest Vivo family.

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While a transparent phone certainly sounds like a neat concept, it should be noted that a fully see-through device is not yet within the realm of possibility. Sure, you could make parts of the phone transparent, but as for the entirety of the device, the hardware to make that happen just doesn’t exist (yet).

It’s also worth mentioning that it’s possible that Vivo isn’t teasing a transparent phone at all, but is simply not yet ready to reveal the actual design of the phone (and is playing a cruel, cruel joke on us in the meantime). Alas, it seems that only time will tell. So keep an eye on Vivo — you never know what its next big smartphone might be.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
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