New smart cases for Nexus and Samsung smartphones have been introduced, with the first three limited-edition “live cases” designed by dance music producer Skrillex.
All three cases are on sale in the Google Store and are all space-themed. There’s even a case with an alien design on it. The cases are named Space Shield, Circuit Bae and Lil Planet and cost $40 each (about £62). They come in four sizes for the Nexus 6, Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S5.
Live cases can wirelessly beam content to your Android phone. Simply stick a live case on your phone and it will give your device a live wallpaper showing the Earth’s stratosphere, and these live images update throughout the day.
To make this possible, Google and Skrillex launched a custom balloon satellite, named Nanou after the musician’s dog. At night, the case shows constellations visible from your location. If you’re in an overpopulated city, it shows what constellations you should see if there’s no light pollution.
There’s also a single button on the back of the case that leads to Skrillex’s YouTube channel. This can be customised to open any app of your choosing, however.