Concept → Reality · Rewritten

Nokia Unik and the phone back you could rearrange

In 2009, a French designer covered the back of a Nokia phone with 152 small squares that owners could swap for other colors and materials. Nokia had sold phones on that instinct for a decade. It never cut the cover into tiles.

The Design Blog editors

Orange-red plastic back cover of a CMF Phone 1 lying on a white surface next to four small screws, a round dial and a SIM tray

The removed back cover of a CMF Phone 1 with its screws, accessory dial and SIM tray; a related product released in 2024, not the Unik concept. AI-retouched from an image by Saketh938, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Verdict 2026

Still a concept

The Unik stayed a concept and Nokia never made it. Swappable phone backs did ship, from Nokia in 2012 and from Nothing’s CMF brand in 2024, but as single covers and not as a mosaic of tiles.

RhinoShield Mod NX Modular Case for iPhone 17Closest thing you can buyRhinoShield Mod NX Modular Case for iPhone 177.8Design ratingSwappable backplate, rim and buttonsCheck priceOur design review ↓

The idea today

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The Unik’s tiles never shipped, but these two accessories let you change the back of a phone without changing the phone.

  • RhinoShield Mod NX Modular Case for iPhone 17

    RhinoShield Mod NX Modular Case for iPhone 17

    A bumper frame with a separate backplate that can be exchanged for another, so one case can change its look.

    Our design review

    7.8Design rating
    Form7.8
    Material7.6
    Detail7.6
    Longevity8.0

    The Mod NX is a case in parts: a ShockSpread bumper frame, a backplate that snaps in, and a rim that replaces the backplate when you want the bare phone back to show. Buttons are separate pieces too, so colors can be mixed. RhinoShield builds it from a single material to ease recycling, and worn parts can be swapped. This listing sells the frame with a backplate, so bumper-only use needs the rim as a separate part, and the 11-foot drop rating comes from RhinoShield’s own tests.

    Strongest point
    Swappable backplate, rim and buttons
    Compromise
    Bumper-only rim is a separate part
    Check price on Amazon
  • PopSockets Phone Grip for MagSafe, Knurled Black

    PopSockets Phone Grip for MagSafe, Knurled Black

    A magnetic grip and stand with a knurled black top that can be swapped for other PopSockets designs.

    Our design review

    7.3Design rating
    Form7.6
    Material7.4
    Detail7.2
    Longevity7.0

    This PopGrip swaps adhesive for a MagSafe base, so the grip snaps off for wireless charging and back on without leaving residue. The knurled black top gives the fingertip something to hold, and the top can be swapped for other PopSockets designs. Christine Romero-Chan at iMore found the magnets strong and the grip secure. It still adds a sizable bump to the back of the phone, and the plastic accordion is the part most likely to wear.

    Strongest point
    Snaps off cleanly, no adhesive
    Compromise
    Adds bulk, plastic accordion wears
    Check price on Amazon

Product images from the retailer listings, cut out and staged with AI.

  1. 1998Nokia introduces the 5110, its first phone with replaceable faceplates, which it calls Xpress-on covers.
  2. 2009French designer Clement Logereau’s UNIK concept is published in December: a Nokia-branded phone whose back is made of 152 customizable squares.
  3. 2012Nokia announces the Lumia 820 on September 5 with exchangeable shells that change its color and can add wireless charging.
  4. 2013Motorola announces Moto Maker on August 1, a website for choosing the back, front and accent colors of a Moto X before it is assembled in Texas.
  5. 2014Microsoft completes its purchase of Nokia’s phone business in April.
  6. 2024Nothing’s sub-brand CMF releases the Phone 1 in July, with a back panel that unscrews and can be exchanged for another.

What it was

In December 2009, French designer Clement Logereau showed UNIK, a phone concept carrying the Nokia logo. The front was a glossy black slab. The back was a grid of 152 small squares, and each one could be taken out and replaced. Owners could change the color, the pattern and even the feel of the phone one tile at a time. The renders show backs laid out as stripes, a flag and a pixel-art alien.

The business idea was as clear as the design. Extra squares in metal, rubber and transparent versions would be sold in Nokia shops, so the phone became something to collect for. Gizmodo compared it to Lego and to trading cards in a schoolyard, and worried about children swallowing the pieces. It also noted that Logereau had added the Nokia logo himself to get attention. We found no sign that Nokia was involved.

The Unik was right that the back of a phone is never finished, and wrong only about how many pieces that takes.

Where the idea went

Nokia knew the instinct well. Its 5110 of 1998 was the company’s first phone with replaceable Xpress-on covers, and it kept the feature on youth-market phones for years. In September 2012 the Lumia 820 brought it to smartphones, with exchangeable shells that changed its color and could add wireless charging. Then Nokia itself left the business. In April 2014, Microsoft completed its purchase of Nokia’s phone business.

Others took customization in two directions. Motorola moved it to the factory. Its Moto Maker website, announced in August 2013, let buyers pick the back, the front and the accent colors of a Moto X before it was assembled in Texas, and listed wood among the back finishes. Nothing’s sub-brand CMF went back to the screwdriver. On its Phone 1, released in July 2024, the back panel is held by visible screws and can be exchanged for another, and stands, card holders and straps screw on the same way.

What it means now

The mosaic was never built, as far as we could find. A back made of 152 loose parts is 152 things to lose, and one shell does the visible job in a single piece. The products that followed changed the whole back at once.

What the Unik got right is the wish. People want the back of their phone to be theirs, and to be able to change it. Today that mostly happens outside the phone, in cases with exchangeable backplates and grips with swappable tops. The tile became an accessory.

The original post, summarized

Our December 2009 post covered Clement Logereau’s Nokia Unik, a concept phone whose back was made of 152 small squares that owners could swap for others in different colors and materials, including metal, transparent and rubber versions. It is summarized here rather than republished.

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