Nextbit Unveils the Cloud-First Robin Smartphone

A small group of Android veterans are trying to change the way we use our phones. Nextbit – a small start-up founded by former Android pioneers – has recently revealed Robin, a smartphone that fully embraces the cloud from the inside out. While it features a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, a Snapdragon 800 processor, and a distinct, yet warm design with tons of personality, Robin’s main point of difference lies in its approach to storage: it’s the world’s first smartphone designed with a cloud-first mentality. This means it does more than just sync with cloud storage, it integrates cloud-based services directly into the overall user experience, creating new and intelligent ways to solve many of the limitations of conventional smartphones.

Nextbit engineered Robin to learn and adapt to your usage, allowing it to optimize your onboard storage. So if you have apps, photos, or files you don’t use often, it’ll move them to the cloud so you have more space for what you actually use. When you want items back, it’s never more than a tap away. Everything is designed to work seamlessly and unconsciously; you don’t have to actively think about utilizing the cloud, Robin does that for you. Using feedback from real users, Nextbit’s founders have big plans to further develop the ways in which Robin’s cloud-first mentality can change the traditional smartphone experience. They’re committed to building a community where feedback flows both ways.

Nextbit wants you to mess with Robin. The phone comes with an unlocked bootloader, so fans can use any driver they want and customize to their heart’s content. And even if you brick your phone while tweaking with it, Nextbit will still honor your warranty. It’s all part of Nextbit’s long-term plan to make the cloud an integral part of the smartphone experience, and to hopefully make smartphones a little more intelligent. To learn more about the Robin and pre-order your own, check out Nextbit’s Kickstarter campaign.