Vivo solves the problem of which color to choose for your next smartphone thanks to smart glass

There must be many smartphone users who can happily admit that color is one of the deciding factors for them when making a new smartphone purchase. That gorgeous new flagship may have the latest SoC and a crazy amount of megapixels in its camera sensors…but it might not come in ocean blue or lava orange. Of course, there is nearly always the safe option of black and then a more colorful phone protector can be added later, but what if a smartphone could actually change color allowing the user more options from the start? This is the question Vivo has now seemingly answered.

The Chinese company, which is owned by BBK Electronics and therefore related to OPPO and OnePlus, has posted a promo video of its color-changing prototype smartphone. The device in question, which looks suspiciously like a special edition of the Vivo S7 5G smartphone, uses the properties of electrochromic technology that allows the smart glass on the rear panel to change color. The technology has been shown off before in relation to smartphones, when OnePlus used it to hide and unhide the rear camera system on its Concept One device earlier this year.

Whether such a color-changing smartphone will make it to market or not depends on many factors, especially cost. The Vivo phone certainly looks great as it switches colors from blue to silver, and if the company can find a cost-effective way of implementing the technology with future releases then there will certainly be plenty of satisfied smartphone users changing their device’s color depending on their mood...as long as it also comes in black.