Saygus V2 hands-on

The Saygus V2 (V-Squared) has been making a bit of news lately, most recently earning a CES 2015 Innovation Award.

Saygus, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, has set out to create a super-smartphone, a device that will provide the best functionality and a host of features we may not see on other flagships in the immediate term. From the materials used in its construction, to potentially massive amounts of storage, to claims of unbeatable battery performance, the V2 plans to make a statement.

Will the industry take notice? We think the V2 will be pretty hard to ignore if availability rolls out according to plan. It could be argued that there is something for everyone on this device.

Design

While it is not the lightest smartphone on record (141g), the weight-in-the-hand of the V2 belies its size. The reason for that is the chosen material for the frame and protective edges. The mid-frame is magnesium, the edges are Kevlar, and the sides are anodized aluminum. All the hardware buttons run along the right side of the device including a dedicated camera shutter key, and a fingerprint scanner.

There are two front-facing speakers, made by, and optimized by Harman Kardon sound technology. The battery is 3,100mAh, and thanks to a power-saving chip, Saygus says you will get the same performance a 4,600mAh battery might provide. Qi wireless charging will be along for the ride too.

On the connectivity side of things, this device is designed to work with all carriers, GSM, CDMA, LTE, and handle all the major radio bands. In addition to the standard fare of Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth, the V2 also has a 60GHz wireless gaming/mobile beaming transmitter

Display

The display is a full HD 1080x1920 5-inch panel. Saygus calls it an “edge-to-edge” borderless screen. The Kevlar edges make for unobtrusive bezels. Gorilla Glass 4 protects the whole ensemble. The display will be viewable in full sunlight, and the auto brightness will make use of the front and back light sensors for optimal control.

Interface

The devices on hand were basically engineering reference builds running stock Android. Saygus told us that it plans to ship its devices with stock Android on board, with a few pre-installed apps (which will be removable by the user if desired).

Processor and Memory

The V2 will be powered by a quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU and 3GB of RAM, more than enough power to handle the graphics and software. The V2 will ship with 64GB of storage out of the box, and can be expanded by not one, but two microSD cards. Each microSD slot has been configured to handle cards up to 128GB each, meaning you could have as much as 320GB of total storage on board.

Camera

The cameras are where the fun begins. Saygus has put two high-resolution cameras on the V2, a 21 megapixel and dual-LED flash is was it set up for the main unit, and a 13 megapixel front facing camera to take the ultimate selfies. Both cameras will have optical image stabilization and auto focus.

Expectations

The Saygus V2 is planning to ship in the first quarter of 2015. A pre-order window will open direct from Saygus later this month. Given all the materials and performance objectives of this device, it would seem fitting to coin the phrase from first Jurassic Park movie, “Spared no expense.” Indeed, Saygus has set very high expectations for itself, an ultra-light, ultra-strong, waterproof, tons of storage, made with the best materials around.

Pricing is not available yet, but as the V2 is packing all the flagship goods and then some, we are expecting it will have a flagship price.