New Case Puts iPhone & Android Back to Back

It's the bane of many a tech geek's existence that the customizability of Android software cannot be combined with the sleek design of the iPhone. A new Kickstarter project titled Eye, however, is looking to change that with a new iPhone case that allows you to combine the two.

How are these master hackers over at Kickstarter getting past Apple's hard-to-crack iOS? Well, they aren't. This case simply has an additional screen and set of phone components that attaches onto the back of your phone.

New Case Puts iPhone & Android Back to Back — The Eye case. *Image by ESTI Inc./Kickstarter*

That's right. This case is essentially strapping an Android backpack on your iPhone in a way that is slightly more chic than just taping it together yourself.

To be fair, it is a pretty interesting standalone device. It's able to borrow the camera, microphone, and speaker from the iPhone. The case itself offers a separate battery, wireless charging, two SIM card slots, 3.5 mm headphone jack, 5-inch AMOLED display, and more. What's interesting is the wireless charging happens through the screen of the Android phone. Typically manufacturers don't use wireless charging because the aluminum backs of phones won't let the charging signal through, which begs the question—why don't more phones incorporate wireless charging through the screen?

While these features all are envious to a typical iPhone user, this case begs the question: Is it worth it? As The Verge points out:

[G]iven the $189 price point (which is the cheaper version without cellular connectivity), it's hard to imagine that Eye will offer a superpowerful Android experience.

— Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge

There's also a gamble in putting money into a new business that has yet to ship a single product to customers, but that is pretty standard fare for any Kickstarter product. The project looks on track to meet its $95,000 goal (currently at $84,354 with 32 days to go), so the customer reviews will be something to look forward to.