Anyone in or having any relationship to the film and video industry has long been familiar with the RED brand of cameras. These high end digital cinema masterpieces have been responsible for helping to bring the highest cinematic elements to the lowest budget films as well as producing big-budget blockbusters. The film and video world has long been a fan of the growing range of RED products, but now the rest of the world has reason to jump on the bandwagon as well.

On Thursday, Verizon announced that the world’s first holographic phone, the RED Hydrogen One, will be arriving late this year. RED first announced their planned foray into the world of mobile back in August of last year, but it came with mixed feelings. While the film and video world was excited about the possibilities that a phone created by the makers of one of their favorite cameras brought, they were also somewhat leery of the hefty price tag it promised to carry.


Last September, when Apple unveiled its new high-tech masterpiece the iPhone X, even the most devoted Apple fans balked somewhat at its $1,000 price tag. While Apple doesn’t seem to be hurting for consumers to buy its highest-end offering, they also had a devoted worldwide following and long-standing reputation for delivering excellence among even the most uninformed consumer. While RED may have a devoted following in the film and video industry, they aren’t necessarily a well-known name outside of it. Even with the lure of the world’s first holographic phone, it remains to be seen just how many consumers will be willing to shell out a whopping $1,200 for the privilege of being part of the test market.

In addition, shelling out $1,195 will only get you the base model forged from sleek aluminum. If you want the higher end titanium model, you can expect to shell out almost twice the price of the iPhone 8. The current price set for the titanium model Hydgrogen One is set at $1,595 but RED has already hinted that there could be a price shift closer to launch. This could mean that the price will come down with carrier discounts, but it could also mean that the price will go up closer to launch. There is no indication yet as to which direction prices may head as the launch date moves closer.

While there is certainly a great deal of hype around the phone rumored to be released in August, actual details are sketchy at best.