Acer Jade Primo with Windows 10 Mobile gets the spotlight in new previews

One of the biggest announcements at last week's IFA 2015 trade show in Berlin was the Acer Jade Primo, am upcoming high-end Windows 10 Mobile smartphone that supports its Continuum feature. Two media outlets managed to get up close with a prototype of the Jade Prim during IFA.

The Italian site HDblog.it posted a hands-on video of the Acer Jade Primo, but didn't show the phone's Continuum feature in action, which will allow owners to use it like a Windows 10 PC with a hardware dock. GSMArena got some up close images of the smartphone and offered some opinions on its physical case:

"As for the phone itself, it has a rather plain exterior, which is not necessarily a bad thing and if clean is what you are after, then it should be right up your alley. Materials and build quality are also perfectly adequate but nothing really special or premium. Just an ordinary-looking device, but one with an important mission of introducing Microsoft's concept of a more convenient future."

Acer Jade Primo

The Acer Jade Primo will have a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor and a 21MP rear camera. The company has yet to offer a specific release date for the smartphone.

Source: HDblog.it (YouTube); GSMArena

John Callaham
139 Comments
  • Awesome
  • Much better and sleek compared to the rumored 940 amd 940xl
  • If you find this galaxy s3 looking phone better looking than the new Lumias, I truly weep for the intelligence of the windows phone community.
  • +720
  • Your ignorant comment makes me weep
  • *passes Kleenex*  
  • It makes me chuckle when people argue over opinions.
  • Since when does personal taste or preference have anything to do with intelligence? Pretty ignorant comment.
  • I suspect a language barrier at work. Probably meant taste.
  • Sometimes taste and preferences can be an indication of intelligence or the lack of it.
  • This comment is laughable. No taste and preference can never be an indication of intelligence. You can have an informed opinion or preference, or not. But intelligence has absolutely nothing to do with opinion or preference.
  • Completely the opposite. Intelligence is the back bone of all knowledge, opinions included.
  • Not for everything. I don't like mushrooms, Does that make me more or less intelligent than someone who likes them? I'm not fond of the color yellow, and I prefer Bach over Beethoven. These are all opinion related decisions, just like if you think one phone is better looking than another, and intelligence has nothing to do with them.
  • Looks don't matter as long as its a Windows Phone.
  • True that
  • Agreed. It's hideous. Curvy edges look vile.
  • I agree with you for once. I like the look of the new Lumias.
  • Design and aesthetic preferences does not equal or relate to intelligence. It's all personal preference. I truly weep for the Windows Phone community and its new "my way of thinking is the only right way" Apple-esque attitude.
  • 940 & 940 xl has far superior design than this crap looking device.
  • 940? 940xl?
  • I agree. Can't stand this faux chrome metal band a la Samsung. Shit looks nasty.
  • But the Acer will be cheaper and the specs also are not inferior.
  • So does this mean no Surface Phone, now that Microsoft finally succeeded to lure one OEM into their lair?!
  • A surface phone might be very expensive when it will be released next year (thats what Microsoft did with the surface pro 3 and surface 3 and the older versions) and there were OEMs which released tablets and 2 in 1 devices .... So sure there will be a surface phone
  • Still no proper buttons. A high end phone must have the buttons...
  • And why, may I ask? They get in the way while watching videos, playing games, taking photos. Also when the screen is turned off they don't make the device look monolithic (aka a single piece without any discontinuity). The On Screen buttons can change coulour, orientation, can be hidden, can be used to lock your device by double tapping them and they make the phone look sexy as hell when turned off.
  • I'm not a fan of onscreen buttons, I've always liked the capacitive touch buttons on phones, however I do agree that there are good benefits to onscreen buttons. Although to be a bit pedantic, onscreen buttons don't cost anything to make, so I expect at least a £15 discount for phones using them!
  • I like the physical buttons more than the capacitive ones because they used to provide feedback. Like the one on Lumia 710. But they looked kind of ugly. Physical>OnScreen>Capacitive
  • My 8X has capacitive buttons that give haptic feedback (phone gently vibrates when cap. button pushed).
  • I've had phones that had haptic feedback with capacitive buttons. I'm not a fan of on screen buttons because they take up a part of screen, and with my Lumia 635 I can't go true full screen when watching videos (Youtube app or the OS video player) for whatever reason. While I was able to do this for a while on the W10 preview's video app, the latest build broke it for me.
  • You can hide those buttons when watching videos
  • Please re-read my comment. I already stated that I was able to do it before the new build broke it.
  • Sorry my bad I had the same problem on my one m8 when I went with the preview builds so I downgraded to 8.1
  • Your fault for being on Windows 10. Hopefully you reported it Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Not really, this feature never existed on 8.1 anyway. At least on the 635.
  • What? Why? Lumia has no buttons. Its all touch.
  • Nice nice. Hopefully it will come to alot of countries. Posted from space
  • XDDD
  • Really nice.
  • Not enough for me to move away from 1020.
  • 1020 is a joke of a phone at this point in time as a camera only device sure.
  • Ew just as awful as the plastic for your profile picture. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • For people who say this looks premium compared to the 950s, I am glad that none of you are designers lmao.looks cheap. That said those specs are phenomenal and that is what matters most. Not what it looks like
  • I'm quite certain once real press renders and real photos of the 950/950 XL come out, like 75% here will change their tune. It is just the way of the world.
  • That's what I keep telling people!
  • How can Acer's version come anywhere near Microsoft version, it's there direction everyone else is following.
  • Truuue Posted from space
  • I trust boss Dan coz he's seen the real thing.
  • I don't think he's seen the real thing yet? Didn't he say he spoke to sources who have seen it...
  • I think many of those people have been so fanatical that they've dug themselves into a hole. No matter what happens from here, they'll stick to their guns and rant... all while hanging on to their Lumia 520.
  • I'm hanging on to my Lumia 1020 and my backup 920.  Nothing I've seen coming out entices me in the least.  Certainy not this toy-looking device.
  • Yes, hold on to old tech. The processors in these new phones are more than 4 times better.
  • You've seen one in action, eh Daniel ;)
  • Danny you sound pretty optimistic and I am with you
  • @Daniel Rubino:
    Your word into 75%'s ears...
    But since the construction concept looks exactly the same than Microsoft's entry level devices, I don't see where such a much welcomed surprise should come from.
  • OR some of us think the earlier Lumia designs were much better and this generic design that Acer keeps putting out (like pretty much all of Samsung) are ugly/boring/cheap.
  • What's the chances of those leaks actually being the final design? I would assume that for test devices and prototypes released to parties that may get leaked they would use "decoy" designs or at least something that's cheaper to make? I don't like the new designs much, but I don't hate them either, the renders made by Windows Central are pretty nice but the leaked photos don't look nearly as nice in my opinion. It's all personal taste anyway and regardless I buy my phones for their OS, specifications and durability so if I don't wait for the Surface phone I will probably buy the 950XL. I'd love to get a 920 with the same internals and screen size as the XL, but alas designs must always evolve and move forward!
  • I'm quite certain you are correct Daniel. I was one of the complainers but I'll probably have a 90% chance if getting this phone day one granted Microsoft gives us the important details. When? How much? What carriers? None of that "in the coming weeks/by the holidays" business. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Same Happened to Lumia 925 leak if you remember :)
  • +940
  • Just saying, it's 950 not 940.
  • Its not confirmed
  • It is.
  • I'm not sure if it looks nice in person, but I think it looks pretty nice in their pictures. I will probably still get the Lumia 950 XL instead. I don't like how people like you are getting angry that more companies are making high end Windows phones. Competition drives innovation and can bring a lot more users to the OS. When people say how ugly they think the Jade Primo is, think how the designers of the phone think and how discouraging that must be.
  • Who said I was angry about more companies bringing a phone to the OS? There is really nothing innovative design was about this phone, as it looks just like the GS3 or GS4 i owned. I am simply saying that I've read people call this a premium design and it baffles me. I have no interest in anythign non-lumia(as i am sure that is the case of most of us) and I would prefer if Lumia phones were the sole windows devices BUT  to each their own and let people choose non-lumia if they wish to do so. So i am not mad about having more choices, though given this is Acer, i doubt it will do much for Windows 10.
  • I'm still holding out hope Samsung comes out with something now that they settles the patent issue with Microsoft. The new Lumia's do appear to be rather cheap looking considering they are Nokia Designs (still).
  • @lcw731:
    I don't know why Samsung should bring a Windows 10 Mobile device, now that Satya Nadella has given away everything he could use to pressurize (patent fees) or "bribe" (desirable Microsoft services) Samsung into making a phone running Windows 10.
  • If Galaxy Note 5 ran W10 mobile, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
  • Even better an edge + running win10 now that's a sexy phone lol
  • Doesn't the new 950 and 950 XL also support continuum?
  • Yes.
  • Well, one surely does. Seems the specs lists often leave it off the 950, along with pen support. Would love to see some definitive, authoritative source (can be this one) to say if the 950 actually supports Continuum, and/or a pen. There is also the issue of Qi charging being 'native' in the XL, but an add-on on the 950. I wouldn't mind buying a back, ut I wouldn't appreciate a clip on shell like the 1020 or 720. I also don't relish a flip cover. Have one on my 1520, it gets in the way. I think it would be rediculous to only release two models, and they be so different in capabilities, but hey, this is MS. They are often their own worst enemy. P.S. Continuum is more than just Miracast a duplicate screen and connect a BT keyboard and mouse. I can do that today with my 1520 (Insider preview) and my Nexus 6 for that matter. At the very least it is more like 'extend the screen'. I also got the impression that this allowed connection to an existing PC, using it's monitor keyboard and mouse, not a discrete setup just for use with the phone. Is that wrong?
  • Am I the only one who feels the 21MP camera on these is a big "screw you" to MS and Lumia? It's like... We've got one more megapixel!! Haha!!!!
  • I'm not concerned with Acer having a better camera at all, even if had 10 more MP.
  • Yeah well we'll have to see what kind of quality it produces. Just the mere fact that someone else even is producing a flagship spec caliber device is encouraging.
  • Not really. These seem to be the standard on android high end phones. Whoever is producing these camera modules must have gotten the price down to a reasonable amount and now more OEMs are using them. You still need more than a 21mp sensor to take a decent picture. We've seen plenty of cameras with high MP take really lousy pictures.
  • That would probably be Sony...
  • Quality over quantity... Stop getting caught up in the numbers game. You'll keep getting burnt.
  • It's not a big screw you. It's just that unfortunately MS does not seem to be innovating beyond the same 20MP cameras anymore. The new Sony Xperia Z5 is supposed to be 23MP and revolutionary.
  • It's a lens and sensor size on which also depends
  • I tried, but I really can't handle these capacitives buttons... Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Then you're in luck! Because these are in screen buttons.
  • @tangledW:
    Which means other people are out of luck...
  • But very few. Can't please them all
  • @Kirsutin:
    Care to share the source of your statement, that the people prefering onscreen buttons are in the majority?!
  • Lol...god damn, that's funny...
  • Features are good but design is worst.
  • Until these can truly install x86 programs, i think calling continuum-enabled phones 'pocket pc's' is a big mistake
  • Not at all. Universal apps are the future.
  • No it's not. It simply isn't. It doesn't fit what the big companies get from Steam and their own launchers.
  • I realize that, but for people who aren't on this website, they'll see that tagline and think they have the potential to play WoW or something.
  • Yeah, it's misleading and some people will be disappointed as a result. The young crowd that has never even used real programs before will love it, though!
  • Intel baytrail and cherrytrail phones may come to the rescue. X86 mode when docked, windows 10 mobile when working alone as a phone. Now that's a true pocket PC!
  • Yeah, i really want to be excited for the 950, but knowing an intel-packing phone is on the way makes me hesitant to buy in right away when the 950 launches.
  • I know the feeling! I wish there were more confirmed details about the Surface Phone.
  • ^this
  • I'm just glad to see some OEMs starting to jump on board with quality specs myself.. Gives everyone more choice hehe..
  • Looks pretty cool. Nice to see different options.
  • I actually like the design
  • I don't get it. If windows 10 mobile if far from complete, then how can one release a phone using that unfinished OS?
  • Because it's not released yet.
  • It's a preview
  • Another Galaxy S# knock off. Still, it all lends choice to the brand.
  • I hope you people will get this instead of the Lumia 950s. This looks way more premium. This isn't sarcasm at all. Or is it?
  • Might as well buy an iPhone or Samsung. Round corners, bezel and all. My insurance originally replaced my 920 with a 1020 and I was ticked off that I lost my Qi charging. I lived with it because it was a Lumia. When I broke my 1020 and they replaced it with a HTC One M8, I tried it. I couldn't make it through the week without shelving that iphone/samsung knockoff and hunting down a used 1520.
  • It's more like the Galaxy S3
  • Can Microsoft please stop with the ugly new people live tile. Please go back to the more beautiful one we had before. Other than that the Jade Primo seems to be a great offering on paper. It'll be interesting to see of what quality the camera is as well as the other features. I just hope they really follow through with releasing more information about it and really get it out to the market and keep it from being another announced phone that is hardly ever heard of afterwards.
  • I have to agree with this. My phone is rectangular, the tiles are rectangular, heck even my MS Band is rectangular. My cameras take rectangular pictures. I don't see the point in the round avatars haphazardly sprinkled around the OS. It feels like I somehow managed to install a Google or Apple app on my phone.
  • @SvenJ:
    I read somewhere, maybe here at Windows Central, that this is part of the Windows 10 design principles. Microsoft wants to make a distinction between "people" (round) and "stuff" (square).
  • Such is the idiocy that has permeated Microsoft's "thinking" since that fool Satya took over.  And I'd happily tell him so to his face.
  • It still needs to stop. I have submitted my feedback about this on my Lumia 920 and many many others have as well. It's pretty clear we don't really like it. The old one was much more elegant and pleasing to look at. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Because a person's face is round.
    Round - profile pic, artists in music apps etc.
  • Here we go again! It's a circle, it's a square, will you die if it's one or the other?
  • Yes.
  • Of course not but the fact of the matter is why break something that's not broken ? The People Hub was fine before. Just like the Music hub used to be and now we're still waiting for old features like artist show on lock screen to be brought back. It seems like the more advanced we get the more we're still waiting on old features. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Looks like a bigger galaxy s3 which is not so bad being that it has rounded corners for easy holding. I like much better then the square boxy looking 950's renders. Great specs as well Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Round corners don't make for easy holding, but rather easy dropping.
  • Maybe they've fixed the 808 overheating issue after all.
  • I thought it was the 810 that had that problem?
  • That is a Snapdragon 810 issue my ignorant dear not the 808 Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Just let him say the wrong shit, who cares?
  • Water cooling - problem solved.
  • Only thing I didn't like about it is the back cover. It looks scratchy and like cheap plastic.
  • Windows Phones from Windows 10 onwards should not be called smartphones anymore. They are pocket PCs.
  • Have Acer done a windows phone before? What was the support (updates etc.) like?
  • Microsoft should give up on their OEMs one of these days. They're far superior to any other company, including Acer and Dell. If Apple let Acer design hardware for them, people would think OSX was shit too. This just makes Windows Phone look bad.
  • I wish Samsung had made this phone (a better looking version though)
  • Looks; my phones always have some sort of case on then so, not a big deal. Specs; finally something to consider, other than the 950xl, if this comes to the USA. Build quality; won't know until I can touch it for myself.
  • I said that last sentence to a chick who had breast implants...it worked!
  • The decisive questions for me are: Which camera is better and which device has a removable battery.
  • I like this thing
  • It's nice to see other form factors in the Windows mobile line up...Lumias are great but diversification is what will drive a non apple ecosystem like Windows and this device looks like it will add something.
  • Looks better then some phones I know
  • These will never sell if they don't price it competitively. All the specs in the world mean nothing without support. Windows phone is mainly a First Party Affair. Giving up Lumia means giving up several core OS features, both app and firmware related. MSRP cannot be any more than $399 and/or $99 on contract if sold in the states.
  • Honestly, I think looks good
  • Why are people all worked up with the phone's appearance?  Smartphones all look the same since the iPhone.  Appearance would have been a valid argument back in the days when phones had all sorts of form factors, now they all look like bricks.  Since they all look the same, performance and features are all we have to differentiate them.
  • I wish Microsoft would release a surface phone for the holidays this year. It would be so hot!
  • That's no hands on video.  Just an in-hand video...LOL.
  • Definitely looks plain but it's a proven "safe" design. I'm really hoping OEM's will follow suite and make more continuum phones