World’s weirdest smartphones on show at Mobile World Congress, including one with two screens

HAVE you ever wanted two screens on your phone? Tech companies are betting big on wacky devices to win you over.

SMARTPHONES with double the number of screens, selfie cameras that pop up out of nowhere, and phones with enough battery to last five days were among the wacky devices on show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday as handset makers roll the dice to take on the might of Apple and Samsung.

Some of the more unusual mobile phones even promised to do what the big phone makers could not, such as hide a fingerprint sensor inside a screen, while others experimented with 3D photographs.

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Chinese phone maker ZTE revealed the Axon M, which was billed as the world’s first “foldable phone”.

But Chinese phone maker ZTE arguably stole the limelight with its smartphone that featured two full-sized screens ... even though it might not be entirely practical.

The ZTE Axon M, which was billed as the world’s first “foldable phone,” featured one 5.2-inch screen on its front and a second on its back that could swing around to double its working area.

Side-by-side, the screens could show apps on a double display, or they could be used to show two different apps at once.

The Axon M will be released “in the coming months”.

Side-by-side, the screens could show apps on a double display, or they could be used to show two different apps at once.

Another wacky smartphone in Barcelona came from rising star Vivo, which impressed technology pundits at the Consumer Electronics Show last month with its in-screen fingerprint sensor.

The company’s new prototype phone, Apex, not only lets you scan two fingerprints at once by simply placing them on the lower third of the screen, but features a pop-up selfie camera that rises from the top of the phone’s body.

By hiding the camera inside the phone, Vivo avoids creating a “notch” like the one seen on the top of Apple’s iPhone X screen.

Sony featured its new top-of-the-range handset, the Xperia XZ2.

The six-inch phone also features dual rear cameras and the thinnest screen border to date, but Vivo senior vice-president Alex Feng said it was not yet slated for launch.

“What we showcase in this concept phone is only a fraction of our innovation pipeline,” he said.

“We will continue to explore all possibilities to bring the best possible experiences to our consumers.”

Other unexpected smartphone creations on show at Mobile World Congress included Energizer Power Max P16K Pro that promised up to five days of battery life in a body roughly twice as thick as an iPhone.

Meanwhile, Sony featured its new top-of-the-range handset, the Xperia XZ2, with a new body design, 4K HDR video recording for the first time, and a feature that can create a 3D scan of your face for use online or as a next-level video game avatar.

Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said some have questioned why “Sony is still fighting the battle” for a share of the smartphone market when Apple and Samsung dominate sales in Australia and overseas.

But Mr Husson said creating a standout, flagship smartphone could help draw attention to its other technology, while some firms were simply rolling the dice in case new features won over new customers.

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to Barcelona as a guest of Samsung.