Vivo unveils Apex 2019 5G concept phone with no buttons or ports

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has unveiled the follow-up to the Apex concept smartphone it presented at last year’s MWC, this time revealing a 5G compatible model without any openings, seams or bezels that charges and transfers data via a magnetic connector called MagPort. With a view to offering consumers “a glimpse into the future of smartphone design and development”, Vivo said the Apex 2019 introduces a sleek FullView design with Curved-Surface Waterdrop Glass as well as capacitive touch and pressure-sensing technology, allowing users to touch anywhere on the screen to unlock the device.

The smartphone also lacks a speaker grille or earpiece, using Body SoundCasting technology to transform the display into a speaker via the screen vibration function. Other innovations include a Fingerprint Light function that lights up a user's finger when it’s close to the display, allowing the device to obtain a clear fingerprint image. There’s also a dual-camera setup on the back of the phone and no front-facing camera whatsoever, suggesting the device as it stands is unlikely to be launched as a consumer product.

Additional hardware features include Qualcomm’s X50 5G modem, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM plus a new “Duplex PCB Design” which has increased the available space by 20 percent to minimise the overall stacking space. Vivo said the Apex 2019 will be showcased at MWC 2019 in Barcelona at the end of February, with visitors given an opportunity to enjoy a first-hand viewing.