Realme has been teasing its upcoming smartphone launch, the 9 Pro series, with the latest news that it will feature a colour-shifting rear design.

What does that mean? Realme calls it 'Light Shift Design', a panel that reacts to ultraviolet light - read that as sunlight - and will shift the colour from blue to red in under five seconds, the brand claims. Pop it back into the shade and it'll revert back to its original form.

Now it's not the first time we've seen such technology: Vivo's V23 and V23 Pro both have a Sunshine Gold finish option that shifts the colour from a brone to blue - as you can see from our hands-on pictures of those devices right here.

Realme's naming approach is similar yet different: the 9 Pro will offer a Sunrise Blue finish, though the brand's press release describes the handset as "chameleon" in its ways.

The speed of the colour shift seems an important point for Realme, which states "attempts were scientifically tested to overcome obstacles, including how to 'alter' the molecular structure to make the material change colours and fade back again quickly." Indeed, five seconds is far quicker than Vivo's efforts, based on our experience. 

Realme also revealed additional 9 Pro features, including the handset's 7.99mm slim design, making it the brand's slimmest number-series product. Hopefully it'll squeeze a big enough battery inside for longevity's sake too.

Otherwise the full and final specification is expected within the coming days, following the 26 January announcement that the Realme 9 Pro+ will feature Mediatek's Dimensity 920 5G platform, with Europe set to be the target market - and first to hear about the full announcement. Watch this space...