Woman caught on video scrolling on a transparent "phone" that is sold out
Many thought the transparent "phone" used by a woman in a viral video was a new cutting-edge Nokia model.
A recent TikTok video left phone enthusiasts and others wondering about a phone that a woman standing in a line was scrolling through. Seeing someone pass the time while waiting in a line by viewing content on their handset is nothing new. What surprised those who watched the 9-second video was the phone's transparent body. The video was recorded this past Wednesday in San Francisco and was posted on TikTok by a subscriber who goes by the moniker "askcatgpt." The video has garnered 3.3 million likes.
The clip shows a woman in what could be a line at a Chipotle restaurant thumb-scrolling on a transparent glass slab. As she moves her thumb, her head is down with her eyes focused on where the screen would be. The entire "device" is transparent with no components or content showing, and it is the same size and shape as a traditional smartphone. On the video she shared with TikTok, "askcatgpt" superimposed the question, "I'm sorry, WTF IS THAT?" Several people responded to that query.
@askcatgpt Completely clear phone spotted in San Francisco on May 14…?!? Wtf?????? Link in bio for more deets. (NOT SPONSORED)
♬ original sound - CatGPT
Quite a few people thought that it was a new Nokia phone, while one said that it was released by Nokia last October and called it the Nokia Clear Phone. No such phone exists. There were some clever responses, such as the one noting how difficult it would be to find this phone if it went missing. "She’s on a mission from the future," wrote a TikTok subscriber. "I can see right through this," joked another.
As it turned out, the product is real and is already sold out. It is called a methaphone and is simply a clear piece of acrylic shaped like an iPhone. The creator of methaphone figured that with so many people addicted to their phones, these people might be able to manage their smartphone addiction by replacing a real handset with something that feels and looks like a real phone in their pockets.
TikTokker "askcatgpt" did make an admission about her personal smartphone usage by noting that after taking the methaphone out with her for about a week, she probably has not reduced the amount of time she uses her real phone. Smartphone addiction does have a legitimate cause, according to neuroscientist Dr. Mark Williams, who told Australian media, "Every time we receive a notification – whether it’s a ping, vibration, or visual alert – our brain perceives it as something requiring immediate attention. This activates our cognitive control network, diverting focus away from what we were doing."
@askcatgpt I’m sending out a batch of methaphones to people who have ideas for (safe) social experiments they’d like to run with them— break it out on the subway? Show it to a 5 year old? Replace your phone for a week? The only catch is that you have to write or document your experience in a post online (e.g. blog post, medium, substack, YouTube, tikTok, Ig, etc) The goal is to keep the conversation going. If you’re interested, fill out the super short survey at the link in my bio! Let’s keep the conversation going! #tech#methaphone♬ original sound - Noah Kahan
If the idea of curbing smartphone addiction with a fake phone-shaped product sounds familiar, back in 2014 a Kickstarter-funded product called the NoPhone offered those addicted to their phones an iPhone-shaped plastic slab designed to replace a real smartphone in a pocket or hand. Seeking to raise $5,000 over Kickstarter, the creators of NoPhone were able to bank $18,000. Eventually, the NoPhone appeared on Shark Tank in Season 7 with its creators seeking $25,000 for 25% equity in the company. No deal was made.
The NoPhone Air and NoPhone Zero were later launched along with a model that had a mirror for "selfies." After selling a rumored 10,000 units over the years, the novelty of NoPhone just faded away in the last year or two.
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