{"id":15868,"date":"2022-02-22T12:27:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T12:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/22\/the-top-5-ugliest-phones-of-all-time\/"},"modified":"2022-02-22T12:27:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T12:27:06","slug":"the-top-5-ugliest-phones-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/22\/the-top-5-ugliest-phones-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 5 Ugliest Phones of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Ugly
GarikProst\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ve seen an insane number of phones released in the last 20 years. Some of these devices have fundamentally changed society, while others\u2026 not so much. Let\u2019s shine a light on some of those ugly ducklings.<\/p>\n

It would be pretty easy to make a long list of ugly phones, but I wanted to narrow it down a bit. For this list, I stuck with smartphones, though there are a lot<\/em> of ugly feature phones. None of the iPhone models have really been ugly, so that means we\u2019re looking at Android phones<\/a>. Sorry, diehards.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that design is extremely subjective. What I find ugly may not be ugly to you. I\u2019m sure there are also plenty of phones I overlooked. This is not an exact science, let\u2019s just have some fun!<\/p>\n

Sharp Aquos R2 Compact<\/h2>\n
\"Sharp
Sharp<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back in 2017-18, phones with notches were becoming more prevalent. People had a lot of opinions about this design choice\u2014and many still do. Some people point to the Pixel 3 XL<\/a> as the worst offender, but that phone only had one<\/em> notch.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Sharp Aquos R2 Compact grabbed headlines for having two notches. There was the typical notch at the top for the front-facing camera, but it was joined by a second notch at the bottom for the fingerprint sensor.<\/p>\n

You can make an argument that a top notch gives you more screen space since the status icons can go around it. However, there wasn\u2019t much of a benefit for the bottom notch. It just looked weird.<\/p>\n

T-Mobile G1<\/h2>\n
\"T-Mobile
T-Mobile G1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okay, this may be a bit of a hot take<\/a>. People have a soft spot for the T-Mobile G1 since it was the very first Android phone, but let\u2019s be honest, it\u2019s pretty ugly.<\/p>\n

Just look at that massive bottom section. There are four physical buttons and a trackball. It\u2019s all plastic and it looks<\/em> like plastic. There\u2019s almost a toy-ish quality to it. The mechanism to slide open the screen was pretty cool, but it often looked slightly crooked.<\/p>\n

I know this was very early in the smartphone era, but look at what Apple was making at the time<\/a>. Sure, the original iPhone is dated too, but it looked so much more refined and premium.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S5 in \u201cGold\u201d<\/h2>\n
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The Galaxy S5 Gold, or what I call the Galaxy S5 Band-Aid pic.twitter.com\/xU5fzvWrvz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) February 24, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Galaxy S5 was a fairly straightforward device from Samsung. It wasn\u2019t a huge departure from the design of the Galaxy S4, but Samsung made one choice that didn\u2019t go over well. The back of the phone featured a rubberized dimple texture.<\/p>\n

This dimpled texture looked okay in white and black, but the \u201cgold\u201d color was immediately the butt of a lot of jokes. Samsung tried to make it look like shiny gold in product shots. However, in real life, it looked more like beige and the pattern made it resemble a Band-Aid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S5 is the perfect example of how a seemingly innocuous design decision\u2014a rubberized back with dimples for extra grip\u2014can go south in a hurry. Once it was pointed out how much it looked like a Band-Aid, that was all anyone could see.<\/p>\n

Doogee S70<\/h2>\n
\"Doogee
Doogee<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Doogee S70 is a member of the \u201crugged\u201d genre of smartphones. Doogee didn\u2019t simply design a phone with tough materials and high IP<\/a> and\u00a0MIL ratings<\/a>. It went over the top to make sure it also looks<\/em> tough.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much going on with this phone. The aggressive sharp corners and angular shape, the fake screws around the cameras, the leather texture on the back, and the big \u201cIP-68\u201d stamp. It\u2019s just too much.<\/p>\n

There are quite a few \u201crugged\u201d phones I could list here that all suffer from the same problems. It\u2019s not enough for a phone to be tough, it also has to look like an armored vehicle. Some people dig that design, but I think it\u2019s ugly.<\/p>\n

Lamborghini TL700<\/h2>\n
\"Lamborghini
mail.ru<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have saved the best (worst) for last. Every once in a while, a high-end car maker will license its name out for a crazy smartphone. These devices are usually pretty garish, but the\u00a0Lamborghini TL700 takes the cake.<\/p>\n

For starters, it\u2019s plated in bold gold on all sides. The\u00a0Lamborghini logo is front and center acting as a pretty large home button. If that wasn\u2019t enough, \u201cTonino Lamborghini\u201d is printed above the home button as well.<\/p>\n

\"Lamborghini
mail.ru<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sides of the TL700 feature a knurled texture and the back is covered in fake crocodile skin. The Lamborghini logo appears on the back as well along with more gold accents and fake gold screws. It\u2019s\u2026 a lot.<\/p>\n

These types of phones are strange because I\u2019m not really sure who actually buys them. The\u00a0Lamborghini TL700 was released in 2012<\/a> and it cost a staggering $2,758. It\u2019s certainly a status symbol, but not a very pretty one.<\/p>\n\n

There you have it, some truly ugly phones. Thankfully, most of the \u201cugly\u201d devices I found are from the earlier days of smartphones. Modern phones are typically much nicer looking. Even software has come a long way<\/a> in terms of design. You never know when the next eyesore could be unleashed, though.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The 10 Greatest Versions of Android, Ranked<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n