In short: Australian startup called DigiCase is now preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund final production of a Samsung Galaxy phone case that adds a second screen to the handset. The accessory is expected to become available at launch for just $80 plus shipping and handling fees and the campaign will kick off on October 15. It has been shown in both black and white colorations.
Background: Although rear-facing displays have been embedded in smartphones in the past, it’s not an approach that’s been taken often. What’s more, there usually isn’t a whole lot of functionality or features added alongside the display and the technology usually takes the form of an e-ink panel. That’s not at all the case with DigiCase. For starters, at least three features are planned to be enabled out-of-the-box for use with the case’s full-color LCD display panel, starting with a “Reverse Selfie” feature. That will effectively provide users with a fullscreen preview of images they are taking with their primary camera, allowing for higher-resolution photos than is possible via the front-facing selfie shooter.
Beyond that, the company plans to include another feature usable via the app-controlled screen called Mirror Screen. As its name suggests, that will effectively mirror the forward facing display so that both panels show the same image, video, or other media for more convenient sharing of that content with friends or family. An always-on style mode, meanwhile, will allow slideshows or a single image to be displayed, giving users more ways to express themselves. That won’t necessarily be a drain on the smartphone’s battery life either since the DigiCase will also incorporate a battery to extend the time a user can be on their handset.
Impact: There’s no way to know for sure exactly how consumers will react to this type of product since they are generally aimed at a niche audience due to the bulk added by the hardware itself. However, what DigiCase really appears to be doing is where modular-minded innovations such as Moto Mods have left off. The company is also doing that with a direct focus on bringing second-screen functions to the most popular handset manufacturer currently on the market. That leaves the company with a fairly wide audience and the company could feasibly build momentum to make further cases and improvements on the original design – started back in 2016 – if it sells well. At the other end of the spectrum, this case could start a second-screen trend and place DigiCase in a foundational position in that segment.