4 ms·

I have to be honest, I don't really understand the appeal of the "dumb" part. You can just buy an android/apple phone and... only install the few apps you want

I have to be honest, I don't really understand the appeal of the "dumb" part. You can just buy an android/apple phone and... only install the few apps you want to use. You don't need to go out of your way to buy a device that's incapable of more. It seems like a lot of these phones have physical keyboards or are just more compact than the average phone too though - I see how that could be appealing.

blueridge 3y ago
Yeah, I don't get it either. I buy the least fancy iPhone I can, keep it until it dies, then buy the next entry level iPhone. I turn everything off: Safari, podcasts, all sounds and notifications, games, even the camera. Recently I've enabled lock down mode. I use it for SMS, phone calls, 2FA, and for navigation. That's it. I don't understand the need for all of the apps.
- abid786 3y ago
  I imagine the battery life in a dumb phone (assuming you opt for the ones that don’t run Android) would be much longer.
devmor 3y ago
It's a physical barrier for those who are unable to form the psychological barrier they need. The same sort of practice as buying a box of "snack sized" potato chips because you have a habit of eating more than a serving at a time when you purchase a normal bag.
justsomehnguy 3y ago
If your usecase fits in a voice calls and SMS then a dumb phone, especially with a weeks of standby, is an appealing proposition. Size matters too. I have the three phones (all Android) on me and thanks what I'm not a 1.5m asian lady.
MichaelNolan 3y ago
> You don't need to go out of your way to buy a device that's incapable of more. You're right someone could uninstall all of the apps they don't want, but the apps (and the internet) are *addicting*. It's understandable that someone would want a phone where installing Facebook, or whatever, is impossible. If you buy a phone that is incapable of doing something, then it requires no will power on behalf of the user.
- tourmalinetaco 3y ago
  This would be my reason for a “dumbphone”, as a less distracting alternative. They also tend to be, in my limited research, cheaper, so if I am out traveling and it gets stolen I am not out hundreds of dollars but rather only $75-$100.
- Aerbil313 3y ago
  Do it like me and you can make “no willpower needed” work with an iPhone: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38850248 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38850248 Even though I agree this solution is extremely hacky, it does work.
tourmalinetaco 3y ago
For the only person in my life who expressly desires a “dumbphone” (which is to say a severely locked down version of Android with access to various messaging apps, the basic functionality of a phone, and maps) is that he is mentally unwell with various difficult-to-control urges and believes the only solution is to block his access to web browsers or anything that can be used as one. His secondary reason is he misses the early 2000s aesthetics, which is something I am more in tune with.
deleted 3y ago
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rich_sasha 3y ago
Dumb phones tend to have much better battery life and are smaller. Can you even have an Android phone with an old-school numeric keyboard? I guess it's either a full size touch screen, or some niche qwerty keyboards, or nothing.
Syonyk 3y ago
You can. And then you're still stuck with the compromises of a smartphone. It's short lived in terms of battery life, and it's quite fragile as a result of being "mostly a glass screen." I've been experimenting with flip phones for a while now, and my current daily carry (for when I carry it - I often leave it behind or power it off) is a Sonim XP3+ [0]. Battery life is "a week if I leave it on, two if I turn it off at night," and it's waterproof, drop proof, and a bunch of other mil-spec toughness proofs (I don't care about rapid decompression, ideally, but it's been tested for that). And I can use it in gloves, in the snow, without trouble. The environmental range is quite a bit wider than most smartphones, and everything is an actual physical button, no virtual buttons or touch sensors. [0]: https://www.sevarg.net/2023/12/30/more-flip-phone-sonim-xp3-plus/ https://www.sevarg.net/2023/12/30/more-flip-phone-sonim-xp3-...

blueridge 3y ago

Yeah, I don't get it either. I buy the least fancy iPhone I can, keep it until it dies, then buy the next entry level iPhone. I turn everything off: Safari, podcasts, all sounds and notifications, games, even the camera. Recently I've enabled lock down mode. I use it for SMS, phone calls, 2FA, and for navigation. That's it. I don't understand the need for all of the apps.

abid786 3y ago
I imagine the battery life in a dumb phone (assuming you opt for the ones that don’t run Android) would be much longer.

devmor 3y ago

It's a physical barrier for those who are unable to form the psychological barrier they need. The same sort of practice as buying a box of "snack sized" potato chips because you have a habit of eating more than a serving at a time when you purchase a normal bag.

justsomehnguy 3y ago

If your usecase fits in a voice calls and SMS then a dumb phone, especially with a weeks of standby, is an appealing proposition. Size matters too. I have the three phones (all Android) on me and thanks what I'm not a 1.5m asian lady.

MichaelNolan 3y ago

> You don't need to go out of your way to buy a device that's incapable of more. You're right someone could uninstall all of the apps they don't want, but the apps (and the internet) are *addicting*. It's understandable that someone would want a phone where installing Facebook, or whatever, is impossible. If you buy a phone that is incapable of doing something, then it requires no will power on behalf of the user.

tourmalinetaco 3y ago
This would be my reason for a “dumbphone”, as a less distracting alternative. They also tend to be, in my limited research, cheaper, so if I am out traveling and it gets stolen I am not out hundreds of dollars but rather only $75-$100.
Aerbil313 3y ago
Do it like me and you can make “no willpower needed” work with an iPhone: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38850248 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38850248 Even though I agree this solution is extremely hacky, it does work.

tourmalinetaco 3y ago

For the only person in my life who expressly desires a “dumbphone” (which is to say a severely locked down version of Android with access to various messaging apps, the basic functionality of a phone, and maps) is that he is mentally unwell with various difficult-to-control urges and believes the only solution is to block his access to web browsers or anything that can be used as one. His secondary reason is he misses the early 2000s aesthetics, which is something I am more in tune with.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

rich_sasha 3y ago

Dumb phones tend to have much better battery life and are smaller. Can you even have an Android phone with an old-school numeric keyboard? I guess it's either a full size touch screen, or some niche qwerty keyboards, or nothing.

Syonyk 3y ago

You can. And then you're still stuck with the compromises of a smartphone. It's short lived in terms of battery life, and it's quite fragile as a result of being "mostly a glass screen." I've been experimenting with flip phones for a while now, and my current daily carry (for when I carry it - I often leave it behind or power it off) is a Sonim XP3+ [0]. Battery life is "a week if I leave it on, two if I turn it off at night," and it's waterproof, drop proof, and a bunch of other mil-spec toughness proofs (I don't care about rapid decompression, ideally, but it's been tested for that). And I can use it in gloves, in the snow, without trouble. The environmental range is quite a bit wider than most smartphones, and everything is an actual physical button, no virtual buttons or touch sensors. [0]: https://www.sevarg.net/2023/12/30/more-flip-phone-sonim-xp3-plus/ https://www.sevarg.net/2023/12/30/more-flip-phone-sonim-xp3-...