All modern phones look the same, but it wasn’t always like that. Android has produced some of the most innovative, unique, and outright odd phones over the years. These are the weirdest.
10
LG G5 (2016)
The idea of upgradable, customizable phone hardware has appeared in prototypes and concepts many times over the years. One of the few devices to actually make it to market was the LG G5.
The modular phone featured a “Magic Slot” at the bottom, into which you could attach an enhanced camera module or an improved speaker system. Sadly, the phone didn’t do so well and the add-ons were too expensive, so other mooted accessories like a 360-degree VR camera never arrived.
9
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini (2010)
In the early days of smartphones, the “smaller is better” mindset of the dumbphone era was still influential. That led Sony Ericsson to make the Xperia X10 Mini, a phone with a 2.5-inch display and a footprint smaller than a pack of cards.
Perhaps in recognition of the fact that you couldn’t really type on a screen that small, there was also an X10 Mini Pro with a slide-out physical keyboard.
3-inch versions followed a year later, before the concept was consigned to history as everyone realized that big screens were the way to go.
8
Samsung Galaxy Beam (2012)
Samsung has never been afraid to throw ideas at the wall to see what sticks. One classic example is the Galaxy Beam, a regular 4-inch Android phone with a built-in projector.
It was a niche idea to begin with and was made worse by mediocre performance. The projector could only output 15 lumens of light, compared to the 1000 or more of a typical home projector, meaning you’d have to sit in total darkness to be able to see it properly.
7
YotaPhone (2012)
The YotaPhone was a truly unique take on the idea of a dual-display phone. On the front was a regular 4.3-inch IPS screen; on the back, an e-ink display. It meant you had two devices in one: a phone and an eBook reader.
But that was about it. The e-ink screen wasn’t big or good enough to replace a Kindle, so the idea didn’t catch on.
6
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (2011)
The Xperia Play was an early example of the specialist Android gaming phone. Behind the 4-inch display was a slide-out game controller with a d-pad, touchpad, and the four classic Playstation buttons. It also had left and right triggers to complete the full gaming experience.
The idea was probably ahead of its time, without enough quality Android games to make it work. Gaming phones never went away, though, and you can buy one of the best game controllers to turn any Android device into a powerful gaming handheld.
5
Samsung Galaxy Round (2013)
Remember the brief trend for curved TVs? It was driven in no small part by Samsung and LG, and both companies wanted to prove they could make curved phones as well.
The LG G Flex curved from top to bottom, so it arced comfortably around your face when making a call but didn’t fit in your pocket very well.
Samsung went the other way. The Galaxy Round curved from side to side. It was more comfortable in a pocket and was praised by some for its ergonomics. But as an actual phone, the benefits weren’t big enough to make the idea stick.
4
Nokia 9 PureView (2019)
We’re used to seeing phones with multiple cameras, but not like this. The Nokia 9 PureView had five of them.
They weren’t all different focal lengths, though. They were designed to shoot simultaneously, with the software merging all the resulting images together. The idea was that all the shots combined would create a single image with much greater detail and much higher dynamic range. Alas, it worked better in theory than in practice.
3
Motorola FlipOut (2010)
Motorola tested out some strange form factors in Android’s early years, before settling on the same slabs that everyone else made.
The FlipOut was a fully square phone with a physical keyboard that rotated outwards from the corner. It was a very odd design—definitely not one of the best-looking phones—and a bit of a throwback to the BlackBerry devices that were still clinging on at the time. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t last very long.
It was part of a particularly strange one-two from the company in 2010, which also included the Moto BackFlip, a small yet extremely chunky device with a keyboard that folded out from the rear.
2
LG Optimus 3D (2011)
An even more short-lived trend than curved TVs were 3D TVs, and it made its way to phones, courtesy once more, of LG.
The LG Optimus 3D was a normal 2D Android phone most of the time, but through a quick button press, you could activate the 3D display and a customized interface through which you could enjoy specially-created 3D games or YouTube videos. There was also a dual-camera setup that could shoot stills and videos in three dimensions.
HTC got in on the act a year later with the Evo 3D, and pro video camera brand RED tried it with the Hydrogen One in 2018, but 3D phones never managed to become anything more than a gimmick.
1
LG Wing (2020)
The LG Wing is the only phone on this list from this decade. The era of wacky Android designs is long gone.
The Wing was a curious alternative to the folding phones that were emerging around the same time. It looked like a normal Android phone from the front, but you could rotate the screen to reveal a second, smaller display beneath it.
It was an interesting experiment, and apparently offered a few multitasking benefits. But, let’s be honest, a device like this was never going to take off. LG quit the phone business not long after.
Many of us complain that all phones look the same these days, yet as this list shows, when manufacturers do try something different, it’s rarely a success. Unusual form factors are clearly a thing of the past, although we still have hopes for rollable tech. In the meantime, brands like Nothing try to stand out from the crowd.
