This might be the smartphone of the future: no holes, no ports, no wires, and no buttons

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This might be the smartphone of the future: no holes, no ports, no wires, and no buttons

Meizu zero

Meizu

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  • Meizu, the 11th biggest smartphone maker in the world and one of the most popular consumer tech brands in China, announced its latest smartphone on Wednesday.
  • The Meizu Zero is the world's first "true non-porous wireless smartphone," according to the company, which means the phone has no ports, holes, or wires.
  • Take a look at the radical design of the Meizu Zero.
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The Meizu Zero doesn’t have any holes — even for the speaker. Instead, the phone features Meizu’s "mSound 2.0" technology, which lets the sound come from the screen itself.

The Meizu Zero doesn’t have any holes — even for the speaker. Instead, the phone features Meizu’s "mSound 2.0" technology, which lets the sound come from the screen itself.

Speaking of the screen, the Meizu Zero features a 5.99-inch OLED display that has a built-in fingerprint scanner directly underneath the display, as well as a selfie camera for facial recognition.

Speaking of the screen, the Meizu Zero features a 5.99-inch OLED display that has a built-in fingerprint scanner directly underneath the display, as well as a selfie camera for facial recognition.
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Since the phone has no ports, you can’t charge this phone with a cord — wireless charging is the only way to go here. Thankfully, the Meizu Zero supports "super fast" wireless charging.

Since the phone has no ports, you can’t charge this phone with a cord — wireless charging is the only way to go here. Thankfully, the Meizu Zero supports "super fast" wireless charging.

Meizu’s 18-watt wireless charging solution, if delivered as promised, would provide a much bigger power boost than wireless charging methods from Apple and Samsung, which use 7.5- and 9-watt speeds, respectively.

This ought to translate to faster charging times, but we'll have to see Meizu's final product to know for sure.

The Meizu Zero has a water-resistance rating of IP68 against water and dust — the same as Apple’s iPhone XS and Samsung’s Galaxy S9 — so you can submerge it safely in up to two meters of water for about 30 minutes. But the phone is not "waterproof," despite the lack of ports or holes on the device.

The Meizu Zero has a water-resistance rating of IP68 against water and dust — the same as Apple’s iPhone XS and Samsung’s Galaxy S9 — so you can submerge it safely in up to two meters of water for about 30 minutes. But the phone is not "waterproof," despite the lack of ports or holes on the device.

While the Meizu Zero has no ports, it does have two super-tiny pinholes: one for the microphone, and another for hard-resetting the phone. This is probably why the phone is not completely waterproof.

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You might be wondering where the SIM card goes. Meizu ditched the traditional tray in favor of an embedded SIM card, as well as eSIM technology, which negates the need for a physical card at all.

You might be wondering where the SIM card goes. Meizu ditched the traditional tray in favor of an embedded SIM card, as well as eSIM technology, which negates the need for a physical card at all.

Meizu said the phone’s launch in China will be dictated by the carriers and how they implement eSIM technologies, which might hamper initial availability.

The phone doesn't have buttons either, but it does have virtual buttons on the side that use haptic feedback, so you'll feel small vibrations when you turn the phone on or off, or adjust the volume.

The phone doesn't have buttons either, but it does have virtual buttons on the side that use haptic feedback, so you'll feel small vibrations when you turn the phone on or off, or adjust the volume.
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Aside from its other features, like its Snapdragon 845 processor (the same chip that powered most of the popular Android phones in 2018) and Bluetooth 5.0, there's still much we don't know about the Meizu Zero.

Aside from its other features, like its Snapdragon 845 processor (the same chip that powered most of the popular Android phones in 2018) and Bluetooth 5.0, there's still much we don't know about the Meizu Zero.

While we're curious to see how good the OLED screen looks, and how effective the in-screen audio is, the biggest questions remaining from Meizu's announcement are the starting price and release date, so we have no idea about this phone's availability just yet.

That said, we wouldn't be surprised to learn details later next month at Mobile World Congress, which will be held from February 25-28.