Nokia 7380 5G concept rethinks one of the strangest phones in history |Video and Images

In modern times, the design of smartphones is pretty well set in stone, with the exception of unique designs such as foldables and rollables. The “candy bar” form factor has emerged as the standard, displacing even the trendy clamshell “flip phones” that are making a comeback via small foldables, owing to its practicality, portability, and efficiency.

There was a time, however, when phone form factors ran as wild as the imaginations could. With brands like Nokia boldly experimenting with different designs that were functional but also a bit unconventional. The Nokia 7280 and 7380 “lipstick” phones were two of Nokia’s oddest creations, and one designer is bringing that past design to the present, giving it a modern touch to fit today’s aesthetics.

The Nokia 7380 was, strangely enough, part of the company’s “Fashion Phone” line back in the early 2000s. At a time when people actually used mobile phones for phone calls more than anything else, it could easily get away with its stick-like design and tiny mirror-like screen. You can’t do much else with it, other than listen to music and take photos that were already high-quality during that era, which sounds like the perfect recipe for a distraction-free, minimalist phone today.

In that regard, the Nokia 7380 5G version does not seem so odd after all. The design brings the aesthetics up to current, using fascinating geometric shapes such as a trapezoidal prism instead of a rectangular box, and this time with a slightly taller screen that covers the entire surface. It will still be too small to accomplish anything productive, such as messaging or browsing the web, so it will be used primarily for phone control and app activation, which must be custom-designed for that screen aspect ratio.

There is a camera on the narrow side of the prism, hidden behind a sliding mechanism. Given current technology and the fact that this phone will have few other components, there should be enough room for a 50MP or higher camera. According to reports, the concept design has a dual camera configuration on the “front,” or where the screen is, however, the purpose of placing two cameras there is unclear.

To put it briefly, this smartphone stick might be sold as a gadget that is focused on capturing pictures and listening to music. The device’s convenient design facilitates taking selfies and shots, and its two headphone ports on one end are great for sharing music with friends. It’s similar to a stylish action camera with phone and music capabilities, but it also begs the issue of why anyone would want to purchase such curious but less usable smartphone in the first place.