Luxury phone maker Turing Robotic Industries canceled its Android-powered Appassionato handset that the company was supposed to make in partnership with TCL Communication, as originally announced last April. The startup confirmed the development in a statement provided to Android Authority but said it already partnered with a new original design manufacturer for its next product. Nearly three years after announcing its first device, the firm has yet to commercialize any offering outside of test units shipped to select backers but Chief Executive Officer Syl Chao dismissed all bankruptcy reports that started circulating the Internet earlier this week, claiming that Turing’s unit in Salo, Finland, only filed for bankruptcy protection as part of a “restructuring” effort meant “to take the company to the next stage.”
The head of the firm also said the reports about its Finnish subsidiary being €1.9 million ($2.35 million) in debt are false, adding that the phone company is now set to complete a “sizeable” funding round over the second quarter of the year, without providing any timeframes for potential commercial availability of any of its products. The claim that Turing’s subsidiary filed for bankruptcy protection without having any debt is theoretically possible but far from being a standard practice in any industry. Mr. Chao also disclosed the Cadenza that was unveiled in 2016 is still set to be released but didn’t provide any details on its availability. The original announcement claimed the handset will have two chips, 12GB of RAM, and a 60-megapixel quad-sensor camera with three lenses and support for 6K recording. The Appassionato had much more grounded specs, which Mr. Chao highlighted as the main reason for the smartphone getting scrapped, adding that the company now wants to bring it more in line with existing industry trends instead of delivering an offering with the 2016 Snapdragon 821 and a 16:9 display panel.
Turing was often accused of misleading marketing and overpromising by many industry watchers, though the company insists it’s still on track to deliver its vision of futuristic smartphones. The partnership with TCL that should have led to the commercialization of the $1,099 Appassionato is now said to have been dropped in September, whereas Turing has yet to clarify when it managed to find a new ODM partner.