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If you’ve spent any time in a Verizon showroom (or AT&T, I suppose) in the last month, you’ve likely seen among the iPhones and Galaxies a black or gray looking tank of a device.
That, my friend, is most likely a Red Hydrogen One.
For those of you not in the know, Red (Red Digital Cinema) is a digital cinematography company founded in 1999 by Jim Jannard – the founder of Oakley shades. Jim is a bit of a camera connoisseur and Red was born of his desire to create an affordable 4K digital cinema camera as well as his frustrations with previous cameras. Their first camera, the Red One, achieved this by creating digital-friendly variants of internal analog DSLR camera parts (e.g. a digital sensor the size of 35mm film). I won’t overwhelm you with an overview of their catalog, but I’m sure I don’t need to. If you’ve seen Luke Cage, 13 Reasons Why, Jessica Jones, S.W.A.T, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Power Rangers, The Martian or Straight Outta Compton, then you’ve already seen their work.
So now that we’ve established who Red is and that they are kind of a big deal, we move on to the Hydrogen One. It was shrouded in mystery last year, but received an official announcement in May of this year of an August release. That was pushed back to November, though, and here we are. But why make a Phone? Jim Jannard seems to be something of an energetic (if not odd) entrepreneur – so it’s more like “why not?”, really. And why would anyone want a phone like this? We already have seen what Red can do and the chance to have a portion of that Red goodness is one big draw. Especially considering that a Red Camera can cost $50,000 or more, whereas the Hydrogen One is around $1300. $1.3k CERTAINLY sounds better than $50K. Furthermore, there is a holographic screen promising a glasses free 3D experience, 3D audio and two sets of H4V 3D camera pairs.
So without a further ado, here are the specs (per Red)
Apparently, these are slightly dated with the Snapdragon 845 processor being available. I doubt, however, that the difference will be noticeable anytime soon.
The screen isn’t much more than a few square millimeters bigger than my Note 5 screen. The phone is still larger than my Note 5 naked – though not as big as the Note with the Otterbox on it. And that’s due to the blocky shape. The scalloped ridges help some, making it feel JUST grippable, but it’s definitely something you’re going to want to grip with two hands.
The holographic 4V is decent as well, in the designated areas that you’re allowed to use it. There’s a handful of games and demos that are H4V compliant and there’s a handful of solid hit movies to watch (Wonder Woman, Ready Player One, Brave, The Hobbit, etc). They do range from $20 to $30 though, so make of that what you will.
The speakers aren’t that loud. I stay away from using my phone speakers for the sake of their longevity so that doesn’t bother me, but I can see how that would be disappointing for some. I found that the 3D audio, at times, achieves the desired effect and the spatial displacement effect had me wondering whether I was hearing my phone on the table or my soundbar on the other side of room. On rare occasion, the audio may sound tinny. Usually, though, it clears the fuzziness out of the audio you hear.
Everything about the Hydrogen One is just, well, Ok or decent at this point. For every interesting thing the phone does or can do, it is undercut by said feature either not being available or not being taken far enough. You have a 3D screen, but no one thought to process the stock Android interface for some easy 3D output? We have the potential for modules, but none exist at the moment. It underutilizes its own features so they don’t become a ubiquitous part of the experience. Combined with the price of entry, the Hydrogen One is starting behind the eight ball. With tech like this, you have to set, meet and exceed expectations. You can’t do that if you’re playing catch up. And at this point, that’s exactly what this phone is doing.
I want to believe in this phone and there’s enough there to convince me to do so, but I just can’t, in good faith, suggest this phone to your average consumer just yet. $1300 is just too much for a Work In Progress. If you take the plunge this holiday season, you may be able to shave a few hundred off of the starting price. That’ll alleviate some of the issue. On the other hand, the “does this feature set impress” part can only be alleviated with time and updates. So, keep an eye on the Hydrogen One, but this is a solid “wait”
Eryc Duhart 2016
