Meizu and frog Collaboration on PRO 7 Recognized by iF DESIGN AWARD 2018
With a new Omni-dimensional Design, the PRO 7 offers a differentiated user experience and the world’s first integrated touch-enabled back display.
SHANGHAI —Chinese mobile phone brand, Meizu, today unveiled the PRO 7, in collaboration with global design and strategy firm, frog, offering users a one-of-a-kind experience through an unprecedented dual-display. With millions of units currently in production, Meizu together with frog developed an Omni-dimensional Design to bring to market a reimagined smartphone that aligns with the natural behaviors of users today.
The PRO 7 pushes the boundaries of design and the standards for smartphone innovation, and reflects Meizu’s heritage for quality and craftsmanship. With a legacy of mobile phone design dating back to the 1980s when frog developed early phone concepts for Apple®, Meizu looked to frog to support its vision of leading China’s highly competitive smartphone market, by designing innovative products.
“We have a firm belief that design will play a crucial role in transforming our products, culture, and company,” said Aber Bai, President, Meizu. “frog collaborated with us to bring to fruition a new phone design that reflect the needs of our users, while improving the phone experience and our brand.”
Pulling together a global team of multi-disciplinary frogs from the Shanghai, London and New York studios, the team sought to reframe existing smartphone design norms and better understand how it fits into Chinese consumers’ lives. For more than a decade, the smartphone has been defined and limited by its front display and in China, field research revealed that it has even become a barrier to social interactions. To overcome these obstacles, frog created a new approach and design language, Omni-dimensional Design.
“Until now, most smartphones have been designed with a focus on the front display that makes for boring 2-dimensional designs. Most designers think within this paradigm, when in reality the back of the phone presents an opportunity for personal expression, and a new way to engage with users and their environments,” said Ian Lee, Creative Director at frog. “In designing the PRO 7 with this unique approach, we were inspired by multi-dimensional objects around us such as automobiles, which can be functional and beautiful from every angle.”
Significant investment was made to enhance the design and technology. A standout innovation is the integration of a custom-built, touch display on the back surface of the PRO 7. This display enables users to see vital notifications at a glance, rather than having to flip to the front display and engage with various apps. It also allows the user to fully utilize the phone’s technology. “Selfies” can be captured via the PRO 7 back display, using the more powerful dual camera for photo enhancements.
The PRO 7 represents a breakthrough combination of performance, radical design and technology, the highest quality materials, and cutting-edge engineering. The result is a seamless and sleek form, and a phone experience that is unlike any other.
The Meizu PRO 7 will be available for purchase starting August 5th 2017 in mainland China.
Visit https://www.frog.co/work/meizu-pro7 to read the complete case study for more information.
