Moving to a dumbphone
What and why?
About a year and a half ago, I discovered the “dumbphone movement”, and was instantly fascinated. Ever since, although wanting to give it a go myself, I instead chose to watch from the sidelines. During this time, I’ve kept up to date with the community of people who have taken the leap and the benefits they’ve experienced. This has resulted in the same thought repeating itself in my head.
What would happen if I got rid of my iPhone? Will my life instantly transform, with me becoming the productivity god of the century?
While the answer to the latter is probably no, I did become more and more aware of the benefits commonly spoken about, and how not using a smartphone could improve aspects of my life.
Before I go any further, just in case you’re not familiar with the term “dumbphone”, I’ll quickly explain. They’re mobile devices (commonly flip phones) which have far fewer features than, for example, an iPhone. They’re not capable of running highly addictive and attention-sucking apps such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, which is one of the main “benefits” perceived by the people who’ve made the switch.
Popular examples of these devices include the Punkt MP02, Light Phone II and Nokia 2780.
Over the past year and a half, I’ve read many discussions on these online forums, and have conducted my own research on the potential benefits of making the switch. As it turns out, there are quite a few. Here, I’ll first explain why I’m switching, and then what device I’ve chosen.
No More Doomscrolling
Many dumbphones don’t run social media apps, and this is the most significant change for me. It’s becoming well known that social media, especially short form video content, has a negative effect on our brains and, specifically, our levels of focus and concentration.
As Ray Zhang explained, “studies have found that the ventral tegmental area of the brain, which releases dopamine, is activated when viewing TikTok videos. These short videos are present in a scrolling form, akin to a casino slot machine where the viewers scroll past boring videos with the hope of finding a dopamine release. As the brain receives dopamine for finding an entertaining video, it requires more dopamine to feel the same kind of satisfaction, making it difficult for real-world experiences to provoke the same feeling.
Studies have also found that short-form content consumption can negatively impact one’s attention span. According to an interview with Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor at UC Irvine, in 2004, the average attention span while using an electronic device was around 2 and a half minutes, this number diminished to only 75 seconds in 2012. Short-form media has trained our brains to seek instant gratification and decreases our focus on doing tasks that don’t provide immediate entertainment.”
After reading studies like the one mentioned above, and reflecting on my personal experience with smartphones, I realised that my ability to focus has decreased from what it once was. While I’ve never been a heavy social media user, even I find myself doom-scrolling on random platforms from time to time. For example, often first thing in the morning, I’ll pick up my phone and mindlessly scroll through content I can’t recall 20 minutes later. After reading these studies, I quickly realised this needs to stop.
While you can put screen time limits on a smartphone, I end up using the website alternative of the app via Safari, or ignoring the restrictions I’ve put in place.
The solution, for me, is removing the functionality from the device which facilitates this.
Window Shopping
Once I realised that I could stand to benefit from this lifestyle change, I began to keep track of the devices available on the market and the ones which could fit my use case.
A problem I quickly discovered was the fact that everyone in the movement had different priorities. Some people want a flip phone which is solely capable of calling and texting. Others, including myself, want a device which offers features such as music streaming, navigation and alarms, all while staying close to the philosophy of the dumbphone movement.
This results in the manufactures who produce these phones targeting a minute sub-set of an already niche target market. What initially appeared to be a wide selection of devices, was quickly reduced to a number I could count with one hand, with very few appearing to match my requirements.
The first device which I considered was the Punkt MP02. I instantly fell in love with the design of the phone, and the intentional layout of the OS. The MP02 is one of the few dumbphone devices which natively supports Signal, delivered via their fork named “Pigeon”. This is a must for me.
Unfortunately, not only was the device incapable of running necessary services such as navigation and music, it became evident that the user experience was sub-par. While reading through the Punkt subreddit, I quickly discovered the software was known to be extremely buggy, with key features being unusable for extended periods of time. For instance, users of the device have experienced outages of Pigeon lasting up to seven weeks. During these periods, the support from Punkt is known to be dismal, with little communication from the team, leaving users with only SMS for messages. Not a good look, and certainly not something I’m prepared to deal with.
Another concern I had was the battery life of the device. Most phones with a similar feature set offer days of battery life, so you’d expect this simple little phone with its monochrome display to last a couple of days on a single charge, right? Nope. Yet again, the MP02 falls short. Users have shared that the phone sometimes doesn't even last a day, especially when using Pigeon or 4G tethering.
This isn’t workable for me. Like the majority of people, I require a mobile device to be dependable, and it quickly became clear that Punkt was anything but.
The second device which became a contender was the Light Phone III.
Like Punkt’s offering, the Light Phone III brings a superb design to the table, but unlike the MP02, it is accompanied by tools which make the phone useable in a real-world environment. For instance, navigation, a media player and a directory are all present.
These are tools I want. Sure, I could survive without them, but I’d be making my life difficult for no reason, which would likely result in me returning to a smartphone.
There are other aspects of Light’s product offering I appreciate. As a company, Light holds a great track record of customer support and community engagement. In addition, the phone is designed to be user-serviceable, such as a battery which is easily replaceable.
I could go on.
While there’s a lot to like about the Light Phone, there are unfortunately a couple of niggles which held me back from making the device my daily driver.
Firstly, it’s not cheap. While the device could be pre-ordered for $399, when writing this, the price is set to be $799 once pre-orders are complete. It’s a tough one to swallow. I’m well aware that designing and producing a phone from scratch isn’t cheap, especially compared to the high-scale operations seen by the likes of Apple and Samsung, but I’m not sure I can justify spending flagship-level money on a dumbphone.
For me, it somewhat defeats the purpose of making the switch. I find it ironic spending £600 on a device of which my intention is to use as little as possible, even if I keep the device for many years.
Secondly, and most importantly, it doesn’t offer apps I need. No Signal. No password manager. No 2FA. No Spotify.
This is a deal breaker.
My Instrument of Choice
After all this research, my mind was made, and I believed that there was no device which would match all my requirements. I was somewhat disappointed, as I did want to make the switch, but with the current device offerings, I would lose too much required functionality.
But, much to my surprise, that changed yesterday afternoon.
I can’t remember where, but while I was discussing the topic of dumbphones with a friend, I came across the Mudita Kompakt. Funnily enough, I’d seen the device a few times before, but for whatever reason, never gave the device much thought.
However, this time I decided to. I’m very glad I did.
I read the product page, and watched various videos on YouTube where people shared demonstrations of beta units. To my amazement, it appeared to be exactly what I’d be looking for all along.
So, one hour and forty six minutes after stumbling onto the initial site of the phone, I placed my pre-order. For the first time in six years, having become used to Apple’s yearly tradition of a slightly better camera, and a slightly bigger battery, I’ve found myself getting genuinely excited for a mobile device - and here’s a few of the reasons why.
The Display
The use of an E Ink display presents three obvious benefits.
Number one, the battery life of the phone is insane. We’re talking days here. According to Mudita’s figures, one can expect an average of six days, but users have reported having more than eight days of runtime. Incredible.
Number two, the display beats any other smartphone when outside. As Urszula explained in this blog post, the display thrives in the brightness, whereas typical smartphones require you to shield the screen from glare.
Number three, which is critical for me, watching any content on an E Ink display is an awful experience. Even if I, for whatever reason, decide to install an app capable of delivering the addictive content I wrote about earlier, the experience will be so bad, I’ll remove it soon enough. Having this physical barrier to prevent me from slipping back into old habits is a huge win.
App Support
By default, the phone comes with a decent amount of functionality via basic apps such as phone, notes, calculator and a local music player. The key difference for me, is the fact that the phone is capable of sideloading, meaning I can install any app I deem to be a necessity. For me this will be Signal, my password manager, Spotify and a 2FA application. As a result, it transforms the phone from a device which would be unrealistic to depend on for my daily needs (where the Light Phone remains) to a device which I can confidently rely on.
Another benefit, is the way the phone handles the process of sideloading. To do so, the user needs a computer to connect the phone to. I see this as yet another positive physical barrier. If the app store was available on the phone, the chances are, I’d just end up removing and adding apps constantly. With the requirement of sitting down and doing it via a computer, it adds a level of reflection to the process, where I can determine if I really need the app or not.
Wrapping Up
I could talk all day about why I chose the phone, and the other features I think are great, but I think I’ll leave that for my full review. After it arrives, which I expect to be in a month or two, I intend to use it as my main phone for 2 weeks. After that time, I’ll decide if it’s really a phone I can depend on daily, and replace my iPhone with.
I’d love to hear if you feel the same way about any of the content I’ve written about here, if you’re considering making the switch, or you’ve already taken the decision to stop using a smartphone.
James