Latest news with #askcatgpt
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Social media users are BAFFLED by video of woman using a 'transparent phone' - and the explanation is even wilder
If a viral video is to be believed, the latest gizmo from California is a fully transparent smartphone. TikTok user @askcatgpt posted a clip of herself 'using' the completely clear handset while standing in a shop in San Francisco. As the content creator stands in line, she scrolls idly on the devoce before looking into the camera. The caption says: 'Completely clear phone spotted in San Francisco on May 14...?!? Wft??????' Social media users have been left baffled by the short clip, with one saying: 'she's on a mission from the future.' Someone else replied 'This could be a Black Mirror promo', while another said 'oh that's Nokia transparent phone'. Yet another joked: 'I can't even find my phone now. I'll never find it when it's translucent.' Although it really is a product for sale, the TikTok video – which got 3.5 million likes and more than 17,000 comments – is not all it seems. In a follow-up video a day later, @askcatgpt – real name Catherine Goetze – revealed the truth. The clear rectangle – which is now sold-out online – is just a slab of acrylic in the shape of an iPhone, she explained. Unsurprisingly, due to its complete lack of interior components, it doesn't do anything a smartphone does such as send messages or order a takeaway. Apparently, Goetze was given it by a friend to see if just having a object of similar size and shape could reduce her smartphone usage. 'He told me what he wanted to test if we're all so addicted to our phones,' she said in the follow-up clip. 'Could you potentially curb someone's addiction by replacing the feeling of having a phone in your pocket with something that feels exactly the same?' The TikToker said the object 'feels so empowering', although she admitted she it probably hasn't made her use her real phone any less. The acrylic slab – listed on for $25 – has been dubbed the 'methaphone' which is a reference to methadone, the drug that's used medically to treat chronic pain and opioid use. Do YOU need a methaphone? The acrylic slab which matches the size of a iPhone is listed on for $25. The description says it lets you leave your phone without any 'cravings or withdrawal'. 'We carry our phones everywhere. It feels strange and unsettling when we can't feel them. We twitch, worried we've lost something,' it says. 'Methaphone can help you manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It can fill that hole in your back pocket. It can fill that hole in your hand. Opioid addicts have used methadone to help step down from dependency, and now you have this.' 'For 50 years, heroin addicts have used methadone to help break their addiction,' the product description says. 'Now you can step down your dependency on your mobile device with this: methaphone. Leave your phone without the cravings or withdrawal.' The methaphone is currently sold out, but anyone interested in buying it can leave their email address and get an update when it's back in stock. TikTok users commented on @askcatgpt's follow-up video, with one simply posting: 'Soooo it's a piece of glasss.' Another posted: 'so this is not a real phone, it's just glass and they're trying to make it sound deeper than what it is.' A third said: 'Nobody's addicted to holding phones, they're addicted to the apps', while a fourth said: 'Just leave your phone at home and pretend it's the 90's.' Yet another posted: 'I'm addicted to TikTok, not my phone.' Catherine Goetze, who has a science and tech degree from Stanford University, claims to offer 'non-pretentious, non-patronizing AI education' for businesses. While the idea of a clear smartphone may sound radical, some companies are indeed planning to introduce more glass into their designs. Apple is working on a 'mostly glass' iPhone, according to a recent report from renowned tipster Mark Gurman. Apple has also previously filed a patent for an all-glass smartphone with a continuous display across the front, back and sides. Dubbed 'a single slab of glass', the patent shows a device with displays on both its front and back, as well as touchscreen buttons on its curved edges. Korean rival Samsung also filed patents for a transparent phone in 2020, Android Authority reported. Samsung unveils thinnest model EVER with Galaxy S25 device measuring just 5.8mm thick - but there's a catch Samsung has unveiled its thinnest smartphone model ever, with a device measuring just 5.8 millimetres thick. After months of waiting, the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge was finally launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event on May 12. Weighing just 163 grams, this flagship model is 32 per cent lighter and 34 per cent thinner than the already skinny iPhone 16 Pro Max. And with Samsung claiming the battery can offer 24 hours of video playback, you might not need to sacrifice too much power for the weight difference. Measuring 6.7 inches diagonally, this sits between the 6.9-inch top-of-the-line S25 Ultra and the 6.2-inch regular S25 model.
Phone Arena
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Phone Arena
Woman caught on video scrolling on a transparent "phone" that is sold out
A recent TikTok video left phone enthusiasts and others wondering about a phone that a woman standing in a line was scrolling through. Seeing someone pass the time while waiting in a line by viewing content on their handset is nothing new. What surprised those who watched the 9-second video was the phone's transparent body. The video was recorded this past Wednesday in San Francisco and was posted on TikTok by a subscriber who goes by the moniker "askcatgpt." The video has garnered 3.3 million likes. The clip shows a woman in what could be a line at a Chipotle restaurant thumb-scrolling on a transparent glass slab. As she moves her thumb, her head is down with her eyes focused on where the screen would be. The entire "device" is transparent with no components or content showing, and it is the same size and shape as a traditional smartphone. On the video she shared with TikTok, "askcatgpt" superimposed the question, "I'm sorry, WTF IS THAT?" Several people responded to that query. @askcatgpt Completely clear phone spotted in San Francisco on May 14…?!? Wtf?????? Link in bio for more deets. (NOT SPONSORED) ♬ original sound - CatGPT Quite a few people thought that it was a new Nokia phone, while one said that it was released by Nokia last October and called it the Nokia Clear Phone. No such phone exists. There were some clever responses, such as the one noting how difficult it would be to find this phone if it went missing. "She's on a mission from the future," wrote a TikTok subscriber. "I can see right through this," joked another. As it turned out, the product is real and is already sold out. It is called a methaphone and is simply a clear piece of acrylic shaped like an iPhone. The creator of methaphone figured that with so many people addicted to their phones, these people might be able to manage their smartphone addiction by replacing a real handset with something that feels and looks like a real phone in their pockets. TikTokker "askcatgpt" did make an admission about her personal smartphone usage by noting that after taking the methaphone out with her for about a week, she probably has not reduced the amount of time she uses her real phone. Smartphone addiction does have a legitimate cause, according to neuroscientist Dr. Mark Williams, who told Australian media, "Every time we receive a notification – whether it's a ping, vibration, or visual alert – our brain perceives it as something requiring immediate attention. This activates our cognitive control network, diverting focus away from what we were doing." @askcatgpt I'm sending out a batch of methaphones to people who have ideas for (safe) social experiments they'd like to run with them— break it out on the subway? Show it to a 5 year old? Replace your phone for a week? The only catch is that you have to write or document your experience in a post online (e.g. blog post, medium, substack, YouTube, tikTok, Ig, etc) The goal is to keep the conversation going. If you're interested, fill out the super short survey at the link in my bio! Let's keep the conversation going! #tech#methaphone♬ original sound - Noah Kahan If the idea of curbing smartphone addiction with a fake phone-shaped product sounds familiar, back in 2014 a Kickstarter-funded product called the NoPhone offered those addicted to their phones an iPhone-shaped plastic slab designed to replace a real smartphone in a pocket or hand. Seeking to raise $5,000 over Kickstarter, the creators of NoPhone were able to bank $18,000. Eventually, the NoPhone appeared on Shark Tank in Season 7 with its creators seeking $25,000 for 25% equity in the company. No deal was made. The NoPhone Air and NoPhone Zero were later launched along with a model that had a mirror for "selfies." After selling a rumored 10,000 units over the years, the novelty of NoPhone just faded away in the last year or two.
