Vivo NEX 2 Leaks Hint At Another Novel Oddity

There's no longer any doubt about it. Perhaps seeing there's no point to all the secrecy in the face of an overabundance of leaks, Vivo itself has pretty much confirmed what's next for the NEX. The original was designed to be a head-turning preview of what's possible for smartphones when you think outside of the box. That may not have turned out so well commercially but that's not stopping the Chinese company from trying. So yes, the NEX 2 will have two screens and Vivo doesn't care whether it makes sense or not.

In theory, it does make a bit of sense. Why settle for a less than perfect selfie when you can use the same powerful main cameras, plural, that you use for those beautiful panoramas and night shots. The answer is normally because you need a screen to see your face or faces. That's why Vivo, as confirmed by its own not so subtle teasers, is putting a second, slightly smaller display on the back.

While that's not its only key feature, most of the narrative will focus on the theme of duality. For example, only two of three cameras on its "back" are contained inside a circle that seemingly eats into the second screen's top. It doesn't, really and it's just a visual effect on the display mean to emphasize the combination of real and virtual. It's a unique take on what Vivo describes has become a common "traffic light" design for multiple cameras.

Having two screens do come with a price, and not just the final retail price. There's bound to be some confusion and usability issues. Fortunately, it seems there will be an easy but not instant way to swap between the two screens, your content coming along for the ride.

In practice, however, the Vivo NEX 2 will still have a lot of questions to answer. After all, the first NEX looked and sounded good on paper but left a few things to be desired in actual use. Fortunately, we won't have to wait too long because Vivo has also officially confirmed a December 11 date, just a day after Samsung reveals its own hole-istic solution to the notch problem.