Have you ever wanted to run iOS as well as Android on the same device, especially the iPhone? This hasn’t become a reality till date due to Apple’s stringent security practices, which don’t allow you to hack the device to sideload any OS. But, there is one company who has worked out an alternative and obvious approach to the problem. An iPhone back cover!!
Shown off at SXSW 2017, ETSI Inc. which is led by entrepreneur Joseph Savion has developed an awesome iPhone case that is actually a complete phone powered by Android. It attaches to the back of your iPhone and provides you dual booting capabilities. The company is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for this project and quite close to achieving its $95,000 goal.
Called Eye, this case adds an Android device to the back of your iPhone to now provide you with all hardware as well as software quirks of the device. It includes a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED always-on display coupled with a 2.3GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU, 2800 mAh battery. This case runs Android 7.1 Nougat and packs support for dual SIM cards, as well as memory expansion up to 256 GB.
While this back cover adds some of the most requested features to an iPhone, it shares some capabilities with the device as well. The Eye brings wireless charging and 3.5mm headphone jack to the iPhone but shares the speaker, microphones, and camera with the device. There are some other handy features added to the cover as well.
This case will be made available in two variants, one with cellular connectivity and the other without it. But, the startup says that the case will be able to use the iPhone’s internet connection — probably via personal hotspot. So, this back cover sounds like a feature-packed smartphone in itself and has been priced accordingly.
ETSI was offering the said case to super early backers at just $69, but it has since been bumped up to $95 for a piece. The Eye is, however, expected to retail in the market for $189 for the non-cellular variant and $229 for the 4G-supported cellular one. But, the niche for such back cases for the iPhone is pretty limited but it is still being marketed as tagging along features you never know you needed on the iPhone — which might prove true in certain instances.
