OPINION: One of the biggest announcements from Dreame’s NEXT showcase in San Francisco in April was its bold entry into the world of “high-end personal intelligent terminals”, or, in language the rest of us actually use, smartphones. There was a lot of fanfare behind the launch, not least a guest appearance from Apple legend Steve Wozniak (more on that later).
Anyone fearing yet another copycat iPhone may have felt reassured when Dreame spokesperson Joyce declared: “When it comes to technology, Dreame believes you cannot borrow it, you have to build it.”
And it’s fair to say Dreame is taking a swing in a very different direction with its new concept: the modular Aurora Nex.
Dreame Aurora Nex – four modules that “change everything”
Dreame’s first big idea? A modular smartphone that can transform depending on what you actually want from it. Or, as the company rather poetically put it, a phone that is “not a closed box. It’s not fixed forever on day one. It is expandable for different lives, different needs and different moments”.
At the showcase, Dreame highlighted four main modules, each a palm-sized disc that attaches to the back of your smartphone, around where you might usually find a regular smartphone camera.
First up is the Aurora Action Camera module. This packs a 50MP UHD sensor, a claimed 0.1-second autofocus speed and plenty of emphasis on image stabilisation and anti-shake tech. In other words, fewer blurry concert videos and “I swear it looked better in real life” holiday photos.
Next comes the Telephoto module, again sporting a 50MP sensor. Dreame claims it can deliver “sharp and realistic” images even at 20x zoom. Does that mean I can pretend I had row two seats for my next concert when I’m sat in the gods? Hopefully, yes…
The Satellite Communication module is perhaps the most ambitious of the bunch. It’s designed to keep you connected in places where normal phones become expensive paperweights. Dreame says the Aurora uses a 360-degree surround antenna system alongside a specially designed antenna material to improve signal sensitivity, while also reducing satellite acquisition “handshake time” from minutes to around 10 seconds.
So essentially, if you’re halfway up a mountain or somewhere out at sea, you’ll still be able to make satellite calls and send more than the usual barebones emergency texts. “It is like driving on a road where every green light is waiting for you,” says Joyce. “It makes losing connection a thing of the past.”
The last highlighted attachment to be mentioned was the Smart Agent module – an advanced AI assistant “designed to support a user without constantly demanding attention”. We were offered few details, but got the impression that this could be a module for those who don’t want an always on, ‘my phone is spying on me’ AI assistant.
Away from the main stage, I also had a quick chat with a Dreame representative at the Aurora Nex stand, who mentioned a fifth attachment: a Thermal Cooling module designed to stop the phone burning up during gaming sessions or other demanding tasks.
It’s genuinely an interesting direction. Aside from companies like Fairphone — which focuses more on repairability and sustainability — modular phones have mostly existed as ambitious tech demos and “whatever happened to that?” concepts. Around a decade ago there was PhoneBloks and Google’s Project Ara, both of which promised phones built from interchangeable components like cameras, speakers and batteries. Neither ever properly materialised.
And you can probably see why. Phone makers make an awful lot of money convincing people their perfectly functional two-year-old handset is suddenly ancient because the new one has an extra AI button and slightly shinier edges. Modular phones, by comparison, are a harder sell for the business model, even if they arguably make more sense for consumers and the planet.
As part of the reveal, Dreame invited Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, to discuss whether modular smartphones could ever move beyond niche status. Unsurprisingly, he was enthusiastic.
“I think this is a good time for modular designs because users want thin, elegant devices,” he said, “but [modules] are a way to upgrade with extra camera connectivity, gaming fans, AI Agents. I think it’s a great way to future-proof devices that are getting expensive for consumers.”
Dreame Aurora Luxe: the smartphone, but make it jewellery
Anyone that’s every seen China’s answer to the Rolls Royce, the HongQi, know that this is a nation that loves luxury, and doesn’t do it by halves. So after the practical ambitions of the Nex, we weren’t totally shocked to see things take a more bling direction with the Aurora Luxe.
Expected to cost many thousands of dollars (though official pricing remains under wraps), these ultra-premium phones have more in common with designer watches than hi-tech handsets. And all the talk about them was less about the technology and more perfume ad, with liberal use of the words “luxury”, “craftsmanship”, “symbolism”, “presence”, “expression” and “statement”.
Though hidden behind glass for now, I got to admire a selection of the range, including my favourite, the Aurora Luminary Realm with mother of pearl inlay and a 5.2-carat Champagne-coloured centre diamond. Completely practical? Obviously not. Did I still want one immediately? Er, yes please!
Steve Wozniak’s take on Dreame’s plans
Apple co-founder Steve was asked by Dreame whether he felt the Aurora, particularly the Nex modular concept, could work, and whether people wanted something bigger and better from flagship phones in general. “They continually do, everyone wants that,” he said. “Oh my gosh here’s something that pushes the boundaries… …It’s something that feels like me, I can modify it and use it the way I want to use it and I’m not just one of a million people all the same.”
“It’s nice to see a product that’s flexible and that you can adjust,” he added later. “It’s very difficult to make a product that can grow and be many different things in one product.”
Wozniak also offered some perspective for Dreame’s team on the long game of innovation.
“When we started Apple, the memory needed to hold one song cost close to $1million. Did we ever envision a little chip with 500 movies on it? Moore’s Law [of technological advancement] said that chip would come 20 years or something like that. And it did. But you never know when Moore’s Law is going to hit again. Our thinking was to look at what we’ve got today, ask how we can make it better, improve it, improve it, and keep taking steps towards the eventual great future.”
He also stressed that creating good technology isn’t just about being number one or ‘better than the rest’ – something that seemed central to Dreame’s bullish presentations. “Human beings should be more important to the technology, so you need engineers that think that way, so we really create products that we love in our hearts,” he said.
“It’s not so much the desire to be the best but we need to be very good, not to be higher rated than some brand or company.”
And then, in classic Woz fashion, he ended with a joke that probably contained more truth than anyone in the room wanted to admit. “When started Apple we had a purpose to do something good, to use technology to help blind-slighted people and the less privileged and look how we’ve succeeded. Everywhere you go, look at the sidewalk and everyone’s walking along, bumping into things!”
Funny, yes, but also a timely reminder that if Dreame really wants the Aurora to stand out, it’ll need to focus on improving people’s lives, not just adding more modules and marketing slogans to the pile.
