The F(x)tec Pro1 feels like a chunky slab when you first get it in your hands. It’s even thicker than the ROG Phone 2 at 1.4cm, and without any obvious hinges your first instinct isn’t to slide it open, but instead to use it as you would a traditional (albeit thick) candy bar phone.

But this isn’t a traditional phone; inspired by the Nokia E9, the F(x)tec Pro1’s screen glides up to reveal a five-row, 66-key staggered, backlit, landscape QWERTY keyboard.

The angled hinge feels beyond robust on first impression - slide out, slide back, repeat - and the phone locks into place when each portion reaches its respective destination. It also takes serious intent to initiate a slide, whether from open or closed.

The front is all about the 6in AMOLED display. With its Full HD+ resolution, the Pro1 isn’t the sharpest, but it is still competitive, displaying more pixels-per-inch than flagships like the Huawei P30 Pro and the iPhone XR. The phone includes a headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging, and with stereo speakers at the top and bottom when held in portrait, it got nice and loud in our tests with the device.

Around the back, there’s a dual-camera setup loaded up with a 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor, a secondary 5MP depth camera, and an F(x)tec logo.