The nation’s two biggest carriers are putting the $1,295 phone on sale on Nov. 2, but they really have to stop calling it ‚holographic.‘
The RED Hydrogen One is not holographic. It is many things—large, expensive, potentially a viewfinder for an 8K movie camera—but it is not holographic.
As we recount in our full preview of the Hydrogen One, the phone has a more advanced glasses-free 3D screen than the 3D phones from a few years ago. According to RED, its „4-view“ approach uses four images rather than two, giving you better viewing angles than previous glasses-free 3D experiences.
It isn’t, however, holographic, the way consumers understand holography. Unlike with actual holograms, the 3D screen in this phone still has a limited viewing angle, and the perspective you’re seeing on the image doesn’t change freely as you move around it.
At $1,295, this is the highest base price for a smartphone sold by a carrier in the US right now. The absolute most expensive phone is probably the $1,449,512GB model of the iPhone XS Max, which starts at $1,099 for the base model. The most expensive other Android phone is the $1,249,512GB Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
We interviewed RED creator Jim Jannard about his new phone earlier this year, and the company’s Hollywood cred and maverick reputation is lending a lot to the attraction of this quirky phone. As we say in our preview, though, until RED delivers on the pro camera accessories it has promised here, it’s going to be really hard to justify buying a 9-ounce, $1,295 smartphone with a year-old processor. Especially if it isn’t holographic.
