This smart iPhone case lets you run Android on a second screen – The case shares the iPhone’s camera and microphone, while also featuring its own battery and dual SIM slots.
(Esti Inc/Kickstarter)
For modders accustomed to creating and using custom UIs and launchers on their smartphones, getting Android to run on an iOS platform is the ultimate achievement. Now, thanks to a handy little device, you might be able to do just that without any coding experience.
The eye is a smart case for the iPhone, currently seeking financial backing on crowdfunding website Kickstarter, which looks to combine Android and iOS into a single device. Instead of having you root the smartphone and the like, the Eye simply slaps on an entire Android device to the back of your iPhone.
The Eye shares the iPhone’s speaker, microphone, and cameras, but is otherwise a fully-functional standalone smartphone. It features a 5-inch full HD (1080×1920) AMOLED “always on” display, dual 4G SIM slots, microSD slot supporting a 256GB card, 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as infrared, NFC, and wireless charging capability. Of course, it’s important to note that the stock Android running on the case isn’t actually running on iOS, it’s an additional system on the back panel.
The company behind the product, Esti Inc, has yet to reveal what kind of computational specs the Eye is running. However, given it’s price tag of $189, it’s likely not a very powerful one.The campaign has crossed its Kickstarter goal of $95,000, currently sitting at $107,549, with another month to go. The company is a new one however, with no previous record of any products shipped, so do note any investment bears a certain risk.
Leaving that aside, the idea behind the Eye is neat. Sure, it makes an otherwise slim device seem bulky and unwieldy, but there might just be a niche for power users looking to more easily carry around a more versatile device. In that case, the additional expandable storage and two extra SIMs don't hurt its case either.
