Camera Maker RED Claims "Holographic" Phone

The company known as RED might be famous for high-end digital cinema cameras, but it is now also taking on smartphones with the announcement of the Hydrogen One, the "first holographic media machine."

Hydrogen OneDetails on the Hydrogen One are scant. A bombastic press release claims the device features a 5.7-inch screen able to display regular 2D media, stereo 3D media and "4-view content," something RED fails to actually define. The phone should also be able to handle augmented, virtual and mixed reality, all without need for glasses.

Otherwise, the only details officially known about the smartphone are its featuring a USB-C port, microSD card slot and headphone jack. However, the curious can glean more information from the RED patent for “Modular Digital Camera and Cellular Phone,” which describes a strange device featuring rectangular modules (such as a spare battery, speaker, projector and cameras) users can slot on the back or front.

Hydrogen One patentUsers will be able to slot multiple modules on top of each other, creating a setup similar to a DSLR camera. One image from the patent shows a bulky device complete with multiple grips, electronic viewfinder and oversized lens, all based around the modular phone. Another image transforms the smartphone into RED's bread and butter, an entire shoulder-mountable cinema camera rig

Will RED find success in the smartphone arena? The curious can order an aluminium version of the Hydrogen One for a cool $1195, or a titanium variant for $1595. Shipments are expected to start from Q1 2018.

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