Source:
https://scmp.com/abacus/news-bites/article/3095169/new-curved-display-smartwatch-follows-last-years-nubia-alpha-much
Abacus/ News Bites

A new curved-display smartwatch follows last year’s Nubia Alpha at much lower price

  • The Nubia Watch has a curved display that appears more rigid than the flexible Nubia Alpha but at half the price
  • The Alpha was lauded as a bold approach to smartwatches that put a smartphone on users’ wrists
Nubia has a new futuristic smartwatch with a curved display that wraps around your wrist. Image: Nubia Technology

Shenzhen-based smartphone company Nubia has a new smartwatch with a curved display that wraps around a user’s wrist. It follows last year’s Nubia Alpha (Nubia-α), which made a splash in tech circles with its eye-catching design. But with its newest watch, Nubia is playing it a bit on the safer side.

The Nubia Watch was unveiled on Monday alongside the new Nubia Red Magic 5S, a gaming phone with a 144 Hz display. The good news for people who like the idea of the Nubia Alpha is that the new watch also has a 4-inch AMOLED display, and it’s significantly cheaper. But while the Alpha is slightly flexible on either end of the screen to contour to the wrist, images of the Nubia Watch suggest it uses a more rigid curved screen.

The Nubia Watch is set to go on sale in August for 1,799 yuan (US$257), nearly half of the Alpha’s debut price of 3,499 yuan (US$500). The watch includes eSIM support and gesture controls, but it doesn’t have a camera like the Alpha’s awkwardly placed 5-megapixel selfie camera.

We reached out to Nubia for more details about the watch but didn’t receive a response.

Before the Nubia Alpha launched last year, the former ZTE subsidiary first presented a prototype for the watch two years ago. With its long, curved display, the device was essentially a smartphone you wear on your wrist. Some ridiculed the design by likening it to a menstrual pad, but the futuristic look still attracted wide attention. According to tech reviewers, though, the software left much to be desired. Nothing is known about the software of the Nubia Watch yet, but the lower price could make it a more attractive buy for some.