It all started around May 14-15 with the publication of a video by the content creator "CatGPT". With her 400,000 subscribers on TikTok, Catherine, her real name, quickly captured the attention of millions of users. We see the young woman in what appears to be a queue in San Francisco, handling a futuristic-looking device. The smartphone is completely transparent, like a simple sheet of glass on which it appears to scroll, although no interface is visible.
That was all it took for the internet to go wild and for the video to quickly surpass 50 million views. In the comments, the craziest theories emerged. Many internet users thought they recognized a secret Nokia prototype, the "Nokia Clear Phone." Some even suggested an exorbitant price of 35,000 euros, with one comment mentioning this figure garnering more than 260,000 likes, as reported by our colleagues at Numerama. The intrigue was complete: how could the components be invisible?
Given the scale of the phenomenon, CatGPT, followed by around 400,000 subscribers and accustomed to covering technological and societal topics, quickly put an end to the suspense in a second explanatory video. No, the "Nokia Clear Phone" does not exist, at least not as a functional device.
A transparent smartphone sets TikTok ablaze: the truth behind the viral buzz
The famous transparent smartphone is actually a Methaphone: a simple acrylic (or plexiglass) plate cut into the shape of a telephone, created by one of his artist friends. Far from being a technological leak, it is a carefully orchestrated prank (a hoax).
The objective behind this initiative is to raise awareness of the dangers and addiction associated with smartphones. CatGPT explains the approach: "If we're so addicted to our phones, then could we curb someone's addiction by replacing the feeling of having a phone in their pocket with something that feels exactly the same?" The name Methaphone is actually a play on words for methadone, a substitution treatment used for opioid addiction. The idea is to preserve the gesture, the comforting feeling of having your phone in your hand or pocket, without being captive to its constant demands. For CatGPT, the Methaphone is also a sociological experiment, revealing the need to have "something in your life that you can touch and hold in your hand." Ironically, since the viral video was published, the Methaphone, which was around 20 euros, has been out of stock. The device was the subject of an Indiegogo campaign.
This isn't the first time that fake images of transparent phones have gone viral. The site BFMTV's Tech&Co points out that several false demonstrations had already circulated in 2023. While the idea of a fully transparent smartphone is appealing, current technology doesn't yet allow it. Although transparent batteries have existed since 2019 (according to New Scientist) and transparent screens are also a reality, the main obstacle lies in the image projection system and the impossibility of making all the electronic components invisible. A phone could possibly have a transparent part, but it would still require an opaque section to house its circuitry and power source.
Ultimately, Nokia's "transparent smartphone" was just an illusion, but one that brilliantly succeeded in highlighting our fascination with technological innovations and, more profoundly, our complex and sometimes problematic relationship with our connected devices.
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