We’re addicted to our smartphones. We get it. In 2017, we spent about 4 hours a day on our phones, mostly in-app with social and video platforms leading the charge. Ceaseless haranguing by Baby Boomers and hipster Millennials alike demands a solution to this apparent epidemic. POTUS hasn’t declared a “war on smartphones” yet, but one small company in Brooklyn has brazenly stepped up to save us from ourselves. Enter: the Light Phone.
TL;DR
- The Light Phone aims to limit distractions with a simplified, app-less, camera-less device.
- The product has been met with mixed reviews by those who have struggled to adjust to its good intentions.
- the Light Phone 2, coming soon, aims to succeed its predecessor with more features to make life easier, such as directions and alarms.
Light Phone Capabilities
The core concept is pretty simple: it’s a phone that “respects you.” If Simon Senik is accurate in his diagnosis of the seriousness of our smartphone addiction, then the Light Phone aims to release you from those clutches. This simple phone comes with only two features: phone calls and nine speed dials.
Although it seems that this concept is going backward, the sleek, screenless device has its advantages. No Instagram to check every ten minutes, no pinging texts to distract you from your conversation. The company’s website opens with a video of the nature we’ve all been missing while staring down at our screens. The Light Phone truly releases its user from the distraction and pressures of the rapid-information age.
Disadvantages
Even though the Light Phone intends to only supplement (not entirely replace) your smartphone, it has naturally been met with some frustration.
Source: thelightphone.com
CNBC’s Jeneice Pettitt reported her experience:
“It turned out that, for me, living without the many conveniences a smartphone has to offer was nearly impossible. It was an incredibly stressful week. I had trouble getting in touch with anyone without texting, I missed some important work emails, I got lost while driving to an appointment and I was late to a meeting because I couldn’t find a taxi. I never realized how heavily I rely on apps like Google Maps, Lyft, and Uber. Plus, I really missed having a camera in the palm of my hand.”
The features she references are in fact game-changers in the modern world. They offer solutions to problems that, not too long ago, we were collectively losing our minds over. “GPS?! A digital camera?!”
Light Phone 2
The Light Phone aims to supplement your smartphone the same way we did with our stationary devices all those eons ago. The Light Phone 2 goes even further with directions, texting, alarms, contacts, and other subtle core features. It’s a buffer from the instant-access to dopamine, etc. we yearn for and may even be enough to break our habits.
Despite the uncertain feedback on the first Light Phone, its successor has been met with raving anticipation. the project’s indiegogo reached 615% of its goal with over $2 million funded. The people have spoken. Look out, Apple.
A Modern Dilemma
In more modern times, the slew of apps and their endless features are what impress us. They allow us to connect with each other in new ways, hopefully to a greater depth.
It was those core, astounding features that pulled us away from our desktops and laptops to our iPhones in the first place. It wasn’t long before we began questioning those who still use MapQuest.com or any desktop-level solution to our first world problems. In lieu of the newly available and better mobile alternatives, we thought the oversimplified technology dead.
Now, in yearning for an overly simplified smartphone, have we come full circle? Or, rather, have we come Back to the Future?
Save us from ourselves, Light Phone. Even if 10 years from now you when you have your own app store, and your own version of Instagram where, to be minimalist and true to your brand, photos can only be uploaded in black and white, we forgive you.
Anyway, give it your best shot, Light Phone team. We need all the help we can get.
