Lotus Technologies has announced a new smartphone called the Lotus Diplomat, a handset featuring a physical keyboard and a secondary display built into the keyboard surface. The device is positioned for users who prefer traditional typing and longer text entry. A line from the original announcement describes the Diplomat as “essentially a smartphone with a physical keyboard,” drawing comparisons to classic BlackBerry-style designs.
The Diplomat will be funded through a crowdfunding campaign, though Lotus has not yet provided pricing or release-date details. The phone is already showcased on the company’s official website, where it is promoted with several planned configurations. The keyboard is notably large and includes a dedicated numeric row to avoid shift-key combinations, while a shortcut bar sits directly beneath the main display for faster input.
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A secondary screen located inside the keyboard offers always-on functionality to display information such as the time. During regular use, the display turns off but remains available for touch input. The main screen measures 5.3 inches, has a 4:3 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2560 × 1920 pixels. Buyers will have the option to choose between an OLED or IPS panel.
According to the listed specifications, the smartphone is expected to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, paired with 24GB of RAM and up to 1.5TB of storage. The device measures approximately 5.87 × 4.45 × 0.33 inches and weighs about 9.45 ounces, placing it outside the ultralight category but still within the size range of compact productivity-focused devices.
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Additional features include an infrared blaster, allowing the Diplomat to function as a remote control for TVs and other electronics. Lotus has not commented on battery capacity or software plans, and further information is expected once the crowdfunding launch begins.
Source: Lotus