It is not the first time we’re seeing smartphones from mainstream brands. The 2016 Kodak Ektra, Pepsi’s smartphone in China and a bunch of other impractical devices. More realistically, we’ve seen Porshe Design Huawei devices and more recently the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition.
In another odd-licensing venture, Energizer, yes, the company behind the batteries you see on TV adverts, is working on a couple of smartphones that are set to debut in this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona be more specific, It’s planning to release a whopping 26 models at the convention.
Neither of the devices are set to be high-end so they won’t be taking on the Galaxy S10 or anything like that.
The Ultimate U620S Pop and U U630S Pop
Of the expected devices, two are expected to spot pop-up cameras, kinda like what we saw with the Vivo Apex last year.
Slightly more premium of the bunch is the U620S. It has a 6.2″ 1080p screen, a MediaTek Helio P70, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a triple rear camera system on the rear (16MP + 5MP + 2MP), 16MP + 2MP front-facing cameras on the pop-up module, and a 3,200mAh battery. It also spots a side-mounted fingerprint sensor like we’ve seen on Sony Xperia devices in the past.
The cheaper one is the U630S and it spots a 720p 6.3-inch display. It is powered by the MediaTek Helio P22, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, 16MP + 2MP cameras on the back, 16MP + 2MP cameras on the front, and a 3,500mAh battery. Low specs and a big battery are a recipe for endurance champs and the U630S Pop should be one fit for the Energizer badge.
Other things we expect to see from Energizer is a device with an 18,000mAh battery cell. Isn’t that quite the headline!
Whether flooding the market with 26 new smartphones is a strategy that will prove successful for Energizer will remain to be seen after the launch at the MWC2019.