The Brauncore Phone

Less, but better. Longlasting. Honest & unobstrusive. Good design is as little design as possible.

What would a phone created by legendary industrial designer Dieter Rams and his contemporaries look like today? This visual concept will explore and, maybe – answer this question.

Before we start: This concept is entirely created by Johannes Ippen. It is not associated or endorsed by Braun/Procter & Gamble Service GmbH. It is not endorsed or created by Dieter Rams.

It is impossible to think of a life without the smartphone. Having a device in our pockets that organizes our days, entertains and enables us to create and share - so versatile, and yet it has a core issue: The modern smartphone is a device that everything well, but nothing in full greatness.

Instead of designing one device that does everything okayish, The Brauncore Phone comes with three different devices for three different audience needs: The Essential, The Creator and The Entertainer.

The Brauncore Phone aims to do less, but better. Each device function is hinted through its design, without compromises. Its goal is to be useful and understandable. Every design decision, down to the last details, has been thoroughly made to be unobstrusive, long-lasting and repairable. With clear hints to the era of classic Braun entertainment furniture, it aims to be: aesthetic.

The Essential

The Essential is the perfect everyday phone. Smaller than most contemporary smartphones, it is truly pocketable. Smart power management and a meticulous focus on the most important features allow it to stay on for days.

I designed The Essential to be your everyday companion – the place for your digital wallet, your tickets and access codes, your shopping list and reminders.

The phone borrows features and design details from the Braun era, making it simple and joyful to use. Whether you write an email, organize your day or make a quick phone call.

Made from airplane-grade aluminium, The Essential is an instant design icon. From the radius of the rounded screen corners to the haptic side buttons and screw-mounted back plate, The Essential is full of lovely design details waiting to be discovered.

The Creator

The second phone in the lineup comes with a twist: It does feature an amazing stabilized 108MP camera – pointing to the front, not the back. The Creator is the first phone ever to feature an exclusive flagship selfie camera.

Accompanied by a built-in condensor microphone, this makes it the perfect setup for vlogging, streaming, video conferencing or just taking selfies.

The Creator is not for everyone – it is a phone specifically designed for you, the creator community. For the first time, you are able to create high quality imagery of yourself while monitoring yourself, on the device you edit and post your content.

The Creator comes with a magnetic snap-on action camera mount, which is compatible with most action cam accessories, making it compatible with you existing camera gear.

The smart button on the side of the device lets you snap photos, video or shorts without having to open the dedicated app: Tap the button once to take a selfie, double-tap to record a video or hold to record a 15 second short.

Obviously, The Creator features a full Android with Brauncore UI, which allows you to use it as a regular phone.

The Entertainer

The final device of the Brauncore lineup is dedicated to watch & play. The Entertainer comes with a bigger chipset, allowing for a higher framerate and a more fluent playing experience. It is the perfect device for casual or core gamers, as well as travellers, enabling them to enjoy a movie or a show on the go.

The dedicated button set adapts to most horizontal console games, but can also be used in a portrait orientation, improving the player experience for casual or classic arcade games.

When flipped to the top, the button sets works as quick access to control video playback.

The Brauncore phone is a concept by Johannes Ippen. It is not associated or endorsed by Braun/Procter & Gamble Service GmbH. It is not endorsed or created by Dieter Rams. Onscreen visuals: Yo Frankie! and Tears of Steel, both open source/creative commons.