The back. That’s a fingerprint reader/power button in the top-left corner.
Credit: Balmuda
The back. That’s a fingerprint reader/power button in the top-left corner. Credit: Balmuda
It looks like the phone’s primary speaker is on the back, right next to the camera and LED flash. To the left of the camera is another round object, a combo power button/fingerprint reader, which is nearly the size of the camera lens. It’s hard to make out in the pictures, but in those rear photos there is also a volume rocker just to the right of the camera.
Everything on this phone looks like a custom parts job, including the display, which has very rounded corners and a hole punch camera on the right side of the display. Being different is expensive, and the Balmuda Phone runs ¥104,800, or about $915. For that price you’re getting a mid-range Snapdragon 765 SoC, an unspecified amount of RAM and storage, and a 2500 mAh battery. We also don’t know if the 4.9-inch, 1080p display is an LCD or OLED. There’s a USB-C port on the bottom. The phone supposedly supports wireless charging, and with IPx4 water resistance, should stand up to splashes of water.
A good view of the USB port and volume rocker.
Credit: Bulmuda
A good view of the USB port and volume rocker. Credit: Bulmuda
The phone comes with Android 11 and Google Play and has an interesting home-screen interface. The first home-screen panel is the usual collection of icons and widgets, and swiping horizontally will bring up built-in apps, like the calendar, clock, and phone.
Balmuda’s main product is called “Balmuda The Toaster”—a $300 toaster oven built around the idea of throwing some steam into the toasting process. You pour a small cup of water into the top of the unit, and the steamy air supposedly cooks the outside of the toast faster. Balmuda says this locks in the natural moisture of the bread, leading to enhanced aroma and flavor in your toast. After expanding the product line to include an electric kettle and an LED lantern, an Android phone was, uh, an obvious expansion to the product line? The Balmuda Phone is probably never, ever making its way out of Japan, but the US is the only other country where Balmuda sells its products.
The phone goes on sale in Japan on November 17.
Before we go, of course, you want to know what a $300 Japanese toaster looks like. It looks like this. You pour water in the top!
Credit: Balmuda
Before we go, of course, you want to know what a $300 Japanese toaster looks like. It looks like this. You pour water in the top! Credit: Balmuda