Skip to main content

The ProTruly Darling might just be the weirdest phone you’ve ever seen

China: World's first VR smartphone showcased at the China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen

This ain’t your grandma’s phone. Heck, this ain’t even your phone. Rather, the Darling smartphone from ProTruly is either the phone of the future, or a bizarre idea that will fade away. Heralded as the first smartphone with a built-in 360-degree camera, the Darling certainly seems to have locked down a recipe for adoration from photo enthusiasts; but only those who do not mind an almost absurdly giant phone.

You see, having a 360-degree camera means sacrificing any semblance of stealth, or generally sleek design. Indeed, the world’s “first VR-taking phone,” as it’s described by China Daily News, has what The Verge called “an enormous camera protrusion on both the front and back.” And as you can see in the video, it’s a significant bump, one that may make sitting down with one of these devices in your back pocket somewhat uncomfortable.

The phone is also really quite long. That’s because the dual 13-megapixel fisheye lenses are connected to the phone’s top bezel.

As for other impressive specs, the Darling is actually a gold phone made of 3.08 grams of “pure gold,” as per ProTruly. Moreover, the phone just happens to have four diamonds tethered to a leather band on the Darling’s backside — we should point out, however, that the carat count of said diamonds is unclear.

Otherwise, the Darling comes with a 5.5-inch full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080), runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, is powered by a 2.5GHz deca-core Helio X20 MT6797 processor, and features 4GB of RAM. The phone also boasts 64GB of internal storage, and an impressive 3,560 mAh battery (because keeping up with a VR camera is hard work). Then there’s the headphone jack, USB-C, and fingerprint sensor in the home button.

It’s not entirely clear how much the phone is actually selling for, partially because there are two models, and partially because there are conflicting reports. The standard model, Mashable says, is $500, but China Daily claims the price is closer to $600. The souped-up (diamond-studded) version is either $800 or $1,300, according to the two respective publications.

So if you’re looking for a phone that will certainly catch someone’s eye, the Darling may be the phone for you.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
30 early Black Friday deals for 2024: TVs, laptops, headphones
Digital Trends Best Black Friday Amazon Deals

Update 11/11/24: We’re officially on our way to Black Friday, and our coverage spans everything currently available at a discount. Check back regularly, as we’ll be adding to all of the best early Black Friday deals below as more and more deals pop up.

Black Friday may not officially be here yet, but early Black Friday deals have arrived, and they’re all worth shopping. We’re seeing plenty of great early Black Friday TV deals, early Black Friday laptop deals, early Black Friday smartwatch deals, and much, much more. Below we’re giving it all a home, and rounding up all of the best early Black Friday deals available right now. Scroll down through the aisle and don’t hesitate to make a purchase, as we’ve already seen pricing change several times and have even seen some deals disappear entirely.
SAMSUNG Galaxy SmartTag2 -- $21 $30 29% off

Read more
Early Black Friday Garmin Watch Deals 2024: Up to $100 off
Garmin Forerunner 255

Even though Black Friday starts on November 29, which is still a while away, there are a lot of great early Black Friday deals on Garmin watches that are worth grabbing. As you may know, Garmin watches tend to be quite pricey, with some of the best Garmin Watches easily going into the thousand-dollar range. Of course, being some of the best smartwatches on the market, it makes sense, which is why we've gone out and collected some of our favorite early Black Friday Garmin watch deals for you below to help save you a little extra.
Garmin Forerunner 55 -- $170 $200 15% off

If you're an avid runner and want something that's specially made to track that, then the Forerunner 55 is a great budget-oriented option that won't break the bank. For $170 instead of the usual $200, you get a variety of tracks, such as Vo2 Max and resting heart rate, internal storage of 32Gb, and water resistance down to 165 feet.

Read more
Early Black Friday Google Pixel deals: Pixel 9, Pixel Watch 2, and more
The Google Pixel 8's screen.

We’ve still got some time until Black Friday deals officially arrive, but now is a good time to start your shopping, as there are a lot of early Black Friday deals worth grabbing. Among them are devices from Google’s Pixel lineup, which is great news of you’ve got your eye on Black Friday phone deals, Black Friday smartwatch deals, Black Friday tablet deals, or Black Friday headphone deals. We’ve tracked down all of the best early Black Friday Google Pixel deals available in the lead-up to the sales event, so read onward for all of the details on how to land some savings right now.
Google Pixel Buds Pro — $136 $200 32% off

If you’re looking for some of the best headphone deals during these early Black Friday offerings, you definitely want to pounce on this deal. The Google Pixel Buds Pro are seeing a $64 price drop and a Black Friday price of $136. The newer Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are also on the market, but they aren’t seeing any Black Friday deals, and this first generation model of the popular earbuds will provide plenty of audio quality for most people.

Read more