SHANGHAI, Feb 4 ― Several Chinese smartphone manufacturers are now offering models that can change colour depending on their exposure to light. The latest example is the Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro+, the back of which can turn from blue to red depending on the ambient light.

And so it seems that the latest trend in smartphones is for automatic colour changes. At Realme, this new technology is called Light Shift and is, for now, only available on the new Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro+. The back of the handsets change from blue to red when exposed to sunlight, and in a matter of seconds. As soon as it is no longer exposed to light, the phone automatically returns to its original colour. This is made possible by a photochromic process involving a double layer of colours.

The manufacturer's competitor Vivo previously caused a sensation in 2020 by presenting a prototype that changes colour in relation to the pressure applied by a finger to a button on the edge of the mobile. Its recently released V23 Pro, meanwhile, changes from a gold colour to a blue-green shade, again in line with the ambient light.

These new models are available exclusively in Asia for the time being. ― ETX Studio