A divide has existed in mobile ever since the first iPhone was unveiled in 2007. You’re either Team iOS or Team Android, with no nuance inbetween. I say, “Buy what you like.” But if you have a hard time choosing, why not get both?
A new Kickstarter wants to make it possible iPhone owners to experience the best of what Android has to offer—for a price. The Eye is a new case that includes a working version of Android—so, essentially, it’s an Android phone shaped like a case. A novel idea, but will the execution be any good?
For an early bird price of $95 (full retail will be $189), you can get the Eye, which offers a 5-inch Full HD display, up to 256GB of storage, an IR blaster, 2800mAh battery, and support for wireless charging. Oh, and it promises to run Android 7.1 Nougat right out of the box.
We’ve seen smartphone cases that offer their own displays before, but the Eye brings that idea to an entirely new level. The case isn’t meant simply to act as a separate experience, either. ESTI Inc., the company behind the Eye, says the case has “rear camera display mirroring,” allowing users to take “the best selfies.”
Additionally, the case adds a 3.5mm headphone jack, features an always-on display, and the ability to “install and play the original Flappy Bird.” If that’s not a selling point, I don’t know what is.
Other specs include a MediaTek Helio P20 chipset, 3GB of RAM, and a promise of two years of OS updates. When connected to an iPhone 7, which is just 0.51mm, the phone’s thickness expands to 13.1mm; the iPhone 7 Plus is slightly larger at 13.3mm.
Just buy an Android phone
While it’s neat the Eye promises to add Android to your iPhone, a safer bet might be to purchase a secondary device instead. At just $229, the Moto G5 is worth consideration.
There’s never any guarantee a Kickstarter will deliver, and it’s unclear how well the Eye will function in day-to-day use. But, for what it’s worth, the company is offering a one year warranty to backers, so if your Eye does break, the company will seemingly offer a fix.
