China’s Honor shows smartphone you can wear like a bag

Chinese smartphone firm Honor on Friday unveiled a concept smartphone designed to be worn like a handbag.

The concept phone, displayed at the IFA technology show in Berlin, won’t go on sale but it’s that clear Honor, a spinoff from embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei, is trying to show the world what it could be capable of as it tries to catch up with the likes of Samsung and Apple in the global market.

The device, called the Honor V Purse, is a smartphone that folds outward with a top strip that contains the camera. There are hooks for a handbag strap that can be attached to it.

The display on the device can be customized in order to make it look like you’re wearing different bags. The bag strap is also changeable.

One of the features of the device is the way the customizable faces could open up into real apps. One customizable bag design included a charm bracelet. One of the charms is an icon of a camera. If a user presses the camera charm, it opens up the camera app for pictures.

It’s unclear whether there is any demand for a phone that looks like a bag. Wearing a presumably expensive device in public and making it highly visible may not appeal to many people. And there’s the elevated risk of dropping and smashing the screen if it’s hanging by your side.

But fashion and technology are increasingly intertwined. Smartwatches are one example of this: Device makers like Apple and Samsung are offering customizable straps and the ability to change the face of the device.

Though it’s likely that the device will never be released in this form, Honor is trying to show one thing — that it is a high-end smartphone maker able to innovate and compete in the premium end of the market alongside Apple and Samsung.