Meizu Zero is the world’s first smartphone without any physical buttons, speaker cut-out or USB port

HTC was crazy enough to do a phone without any physical buttons last year. But Meizu is taking things to an all-new level this year with the Meizu Zero – a phone without any physical buttons, speaker cut-out or USB port or even a SIM card slot. Vivo is looking to do something similar with its Apex 2019 concept – set to launch on January 24 – but you can say that Meizu beat it to the punch, announcing the Meizu Zero a day early. 

As crazy as the HTC U12+ was, it did have physical demarcations for the power button and volume rocker. They were pressure-sensitive but, at least, you knew they were there. The Meizu Zero, in sharp contrast, has no such demarcations. Rather the whole outer frame seems to be pressure-sensitive and will therefore respond to physical stimuli to get the job done. 

The Meizu Zero does not have a speaker cut-out as well. Instead, it packs a piezoelectric solution, like the one we saw in the first-generation Xiaomi Mi Mix. There is no USB connectivity port either, which means both charging and data-syncing will need to be done wirelessly. Meizu has designed an in-house 18W fast wireless charger to go along with the Meizu Zero as a consolation. The Meizu Zero supports only e-SIM because there is no traditional slot for SIM or micro-SD.

Hardware specifics include: a 5.99-inch curved OLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor under the hood, dual rear cameras consisting of one 12MP sensor and another 20MP sensor, a 20MP front-facing camera. It’s nice to see Meizu not bowing down to the ongoing notch trend. As futuristic as it is. The Meizu Zero has Samsung Galaxy S9-like top and bottom bezels. The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner and is also IP68-certified for dust and water resistance. 

Pricing and availability specifics of the Meizu Zero have been kept under the wraps at this point of time. There is also no word whether the Meizu Zero is just another prototype or whether Meizu will be looking to bring it to the market anytime soon.

In related news, Vivo is gearing to launch the Apex 2 in China on January 24. Vivo has been hyping a new ‘waterdrop’ design for the Apex 2019, hinting that it will come sans any physical buttons. It is yet to be seen if the upcoming Apex turns out to be a concept like the original, or if Vivo will be also looking to sell it soon enough. The original Apex became the Nex for select markets. Something similar may happen with the Apex 2019 as well.

Also Read: Xiaomi Says It Is Working On World’s First Ever Double Folding Phone, Here Is What It Looks Like