This wearable smartphone is a hot mess, but I love it anyway

The Nubia Alpha is the kind of device where it’s evident no one ever asked, "Is this a good idea?” It’s a wearable smartphone with a flexible display that looks like a cyberpunk watch from a bad sci-fi.

It’s lighter than you’d expect, but would almost certainly wear you down over the course of a few hours. And it’s a clear downgrade from a typical smartphone in almost every way.

You can watch videos and browse the web on it, but the long curved display doesn’t really suit these tasks at all. You can send text messages and WeChats, but you’re stuck with T9 or voice. You can even take photos via a 5MP lens, but everything except chin-heavy selfies required contortions my wrists just aren’t capable of. 

But there’s something oddly charming about the Nubia Alpha. It’s brave. Ambitious. Unashamedly weird. It’s a wearable that genuinely wants to replace your phone (although there is a Bluetooth version you can used paired to another device). In some ways, the Nubia Alpha is one of the more capable wearables on the market, even if it is fraught with usability issues.

These balls-to-the-wall devices help nudge technology in new directions. Nubia hasn’t nailed the wearable smartphone, but I’m betting that it and other companies will keep trying. It can take a lot of failures to make something good.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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