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You might have run into the phrase, “Fluorite AG Glass” in the news announcements or specs sheets of a few phones. It is an innovative type of glass used in smartphones. What exactly is it and what does it do?
- What is Fluorite AG Glass?
- How it works
- Phones with Fluorite AG Glass
- Other color-changing smartphones
What is Fluorite AG Glass?
Fluorite AG Glass is a type of glass used in smartphones. It is different from Gorilla Glass and other tempered glasses used to protect glass parts of a phone, in that it is not tempered glass and its purpose is not protection from scratches or cracks.
Instead, what Fluorite AG Glass does is that it has the ability to change color when it is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, including sunlight.
As such, you likely heard this material mentioned with a smartphone that is able to change color – usually the color of the back cover. Simply put, this special glass adds a unique aesthetic appeal to phones it is used in.
How it works
A material coated with Fluorite AG Glass changes color when exposed to ultraviolet light or UV light. Before you get scared, UV light is a component of sunlight and it is considered safe with moderate exposure. As a matter of fact, exposure to UV light is essential to the production of vitamin D by your body. The sun emits more than just visible light and heat; it also emits a range of electromagnetic waves, and UV light is one of them. Note that UV light is not visible to the human eye.
The summary is that when you expose a smartphone with Fluorite AG Glass to sunlight, you are exposing it to UV light as well, and the part of the phone made with this material changes color. If you remove it from sunlight, its color will change back.
Phones with Fluorite AG Glass
Fluorite AG Glass is a relatively new development in the world of smartphones and it isn’t widely used yet. As at last count, only Vivo made phones that have this material, which should be no surprise considering that it is the result of Vivo’s research and development work. I imagine that if other smartphone brands want to make use of it, they will have to license it from Vivo.
The first smartphone to use this material is the Vivo V23 series, which includes the V23 and the V23 Pro. Some other phones that have it are:
- vivo V25
- vivo V25 Pro
- vivo Y27s
- vivo V29 5G
- vivo V30
- vivo V30 Lite 4G
Other color-changing smartphones
While vivo developed and uses Fluorite AG Glass, other smartphone brands are not left out of the color-changing design game. A brand like OPPO also has color-changing back design phones that include OPPO Reno5 Pro+ Artist Limited Edition and OPPO A96.
TECNO Camon 19 Pro Mondrian, TECNO SPARK 10 Pro-Magic Magenta edition, and TECNO Camon 20 Premier Doodle Edition ( see it in action ) are three other smartphones that have color-changing backs. They use a different method of manipulating color, though.
Products from vivo, OPPO, and TECNO are not officially on sale in the United States. Some models are available in European Union countries, though, so if you are located in the EU, you might be able to get your hands on these smartphones with color-changing back designs.
Samsung has had a brief stint with color-changing design, in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Aura Glow, seen above. That is a dated smartphone now and Samsung hasn’t followed up with that experiment. Pretty much, if you want a color-changing smartphone in the United States and Canada, you are out of luck, till further notice.
Author:Mister Mobility
Digital Skills and Communication Coach | Mobile Phone Connoisseur since 2001 | Tech Blogging since 2004
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Google Pixel 8a in brief:
- eSIM Support: Yes
- Fingerprint Sensor: Under-display
- Headphone Jack: No.
- Stereo Speakers: Yes.
- Waterproof/Dustproof IP Rating: IP67
- Infrared/IR Blaster: No.
- aptX Bluetooth Codecs: No.
- Wireless Charging: Yes.
Google Pixel 8a
For more detailed specifications of the device, have a look below.
- Google Pixel 8a Full Specs
- Prices in the USA, UK, EU, Australia
Google Pixel 8a Full Specs
Mobile Wireless Network and Software
- 2G mobile network bands : GSM, GPRS, EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz.
- 3G mobile network bands : UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100 MHz
- 4G mobile network bands : LTE.
- 5G mobile network bands : NSA/SA
- SIM Type : Nano-SIM, Dual SIM
- Software / OS : Android 14
- Software Updates : 7 years.
Design, Form Factor, Appearance
- Dimensions : 152 x 72.7 x 8.9 mm
- Weight : 188g
- Display Size: 6.1 inches,
- Screen Resolution : 1080 x 2400 pixels
- Refresh Rate : 120 Hz refresh rate
- Screen Type : OLED, Gorilla Glass 3 scratch-resistant protection.
- Frame : Glass front, plastic frame,
- Back/Rear Cover : plastic back
- Ingress Protection/IP Rating : IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1meter for 30 minutes)
- Colorways : Bay, Aloe, Porcelain, Obsidian.
Internal Hardware Specs
- Central Processor ( CPU ): 64-bit, 3.0 GHz Nona-core
- Chipset : Tensor G3 + Titan M2 security chip
- Graphics Processing Unit ( GPU ): Immortalis-G715s MC10
- RAM : 8GB LPDDR5x
- Extended/Virtual RAM : No.
- Internal Storage : 128 GB / 256 GB UFS 3.1
- External Storage : No.
Photography, Video Recording
- Main Camera : 64MP main sensor + 13MP ultra-wide lens, autofocus, dual LED flash, Ultra HDR, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 4k video@30fps, 1080p@30fps video recording
- Front Camera : 13 MP, fixed focus, Face Recognition, 4k, 1080p@30fps video capture
Audio, Video Playback
- Music Support : PCM, AAC / AAC + / eAAC + / MP3 / AMR – NB / WB / APE
- 3.5 mm audio headphone jack : No.
- Loudspeaker : Stereo speakers
- Video Support : H.264/MP4/MPEG4 player
- FM Radio : No.
Phone Sensors
- Digital Compass : Yes.
- Accelerometer : Yes.
- Proximity Sensor : Yes.
- Ambient Light Sensor : Yes.
- Barometer : Yes.
- Pedometer : No.
- Heart Rate Monitor : No.
- Gyroscope (G-Sensor) : Yes.
- Fingerprint Scanner : Yes; in-display.
- Face Unlock : Yes.
- Iris Scanner : No.
- Motion Sensing / Gesture Control : No.
- Voice Control : No.
- Intelligent Digital Assistant : Yes; Google Assistant.
- Infra-red/IR Blaster : No.
Connectivity Options
- Bluetooth Version : 5.3
- Bluetooth Profiles : A2DP, LE
- aptX Bluetooth Codecs : No.
- WiFi : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/6E, hotspot
- GPS : Yes, A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS
- USB : microUSB v3.2. Type-C.
- NFC : Yes.
Miscellaneous Specs and Features
- Battery Type : Non-Removable Lithium-Ion
- Battery Capacity : 4492 mAh
- Battery Charging : Power Delivery 3.0 fast charging
- Wireless Charging : 7.5W.
- Reverse Charging : No.
- Model Version/Number :
Launch/Release Dates and Information
- Announced : May 7, 2024
- Release Date : May 14, 2024
Prices in the USA, UK, EU, Australia
- United States of America (USA) : from $499 for the 128GB variant, and $599 for the 256GB variant.
- United Kingdom (UK) : from £499
- European Union (EU) : from €549
- Australia : AUD $849 for the 128GB variant, and AUD $949 for the 256GB variant, at JB Hi-Fi.
