The RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro is the weirdest smartphone I’ve seen in a while—and I love it
If you’ve seen one smartphone, you’ve seen them all—boring slabs whose design, apart from the occasional flip phone or foldable, hasn’t seen a meaningful upgrade since touchscreens were invented. That changes today, with the RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro, unveiled at IFA 2026.
The Xsnap 7 Pro has a camera that detaches from the back of the phone, something I’ve never seen before. Moreover, it has a night vision sensor, a 9,300mAh battery, and armor so rugged it could survive a two-meter dunk.
It’s a strange phone, and I mean that as a compliment. I’d rather see more like these than yet another interchangeable flagship.
Smartphones have become boring
Modern flagship phones compete on the same handful of metrics: processor speed, camera resolution, screen brightness. Even foldables have settled into two or three predictable formats.
Compare those to phones from the 2010s and earlier. Back then, manufacturers actually experimented with things like sliding keyboards or handsets that flipped.
Somewhere along the way, the industry decided weird was too risky. So the Xsnap 7 Pro feels like a throwback, in a way.
The RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro has some seriously weird features
A smartphone with a detachable action camera
Ever wish you could just lift your phone’s camera off the device? You can with the Xsnap 7 Pro. One rear camera is a 39-gram magnetic module that snaps off and works as a standalone action camera.
You can detach it and clip it to a helmet or sidebars. Meanwhile, the phone becomes a wireless preview screen, letting you control and stream from up to 160 feet away.
To be honest, most action cameras out-spec it—Engadget notes it doesn’t match action cams on video quality. But quality isn’t what you’re after when your phone’s camera can detach. You’re shooting quick, everyday action shots because, well, you can.
Night vision and a 9,300mAh battery
The other features are also unusual. Namely, there’s a 64MP night vision camera. It gives you a second way to see in the dark. Then the 9,300mAh battery is massive by most phone standards. But it needs to be, because it also recharges the detachable camera up to 20 times.
Add IP68/IP69K and MIL-STD-810 certification, and you’ve got a phone made for camping trips, off-roading, and boating adventures. It’s one durable smartphone.
I want more weird smartphones
The Xsnap 7 Pro doesn’t have to be the highest-spec phone to turn heads. That detachable camera isn’t class-leading, and its $999 global pricing could make it a hard sell.
But innovation is never about reaching the highest benchmark scores. I’d rather see a manufacturer swing at something really strange, albeit with imperfections, than ship a phone identical to last year’s. The RugOne Xsnap 7 Pro has my interest for precisely that reason.
