Every day we witness the birth of a new smartphone with new features or just a “new generation” of a well-selling series that offers the same thing as the previous one, but with a slight update to the basics of it. Yeah, development in technology might be for the good or might be for the bad, we can’t actually tell how it will turn out in 15-20 years from now. Judging by the consequences of smartphone development that has on the youth, I can’t agree that technology is healthy at all.
I really wish it took a different turn and social media platforms didn’t act like drugs to young people but instead worked for the good. One way of working on that problem is changing the idea of how smartphones work and this is why I decided to present you with a review of a phone with a concept different from all other out there. The device started on Kickstarter and is called “The Light Phone”. I don’t think I’ve seen such a thing from any other company, so for me it is kind of interesting but I don’t think that it will make its way up to the top-selling spots at all, but it could be a good start for something huge.
What’s the “Light Phone”?
So, basically the Light Phone is a device, created to drive your attention off the addictive social media platforms, features and other bad habits that you’ve built throughout the last 10 years. By bad habits I mean the urge that you’ve got to check your Facebook or Instagram every 15 minutes and the urge to just scroll through your news feed, even though you’ve seem to not find anything interesting, but just do it subconsciously.
What the Light Phone does to help you with those problems, is just offering you the basic things that a phone could do – enable you to make calls, simple message and set an alarm, that is it! For some of you it may sound like the last thing you want to buy, but for me, it is something that should trigger the red light in our heads that something has to be done in order to escape from tons of problems that we’re unintentionally throwing ourselves into.
The light phone has a really plain and simple design, concept and is aiming not just at a certain type of people, but actually could be used from anyone, as it is incredibly simple to do it. If you don’t think that you can throw all the social media stuff behind, then you can use the Light Phone as a working phone to just make calls, or it can be used as a beginner device for people who are just getting into technology. There are many things that this Light Phone could work for, so if you decide to quit the drugs, then this will be your perfect therapist.
Is it worth buying it?
Of course that aside from intention of use, we have to go through some other questions and aspects to come to the final conclusion whether we have to buy it or not. The first thing that you have to bear in mind is that the price for such a simple, yet effective, device is $100 which for me is not the most reasonable price, but there are tons of meaningless stuff that we spend money everyday, so it won’t be the first time for many of us. If it was around $70 it would’ve been better, but that’s an idea of the manufacturer and I respect his job so I, therefore, respect the opinion to make it a hundred bucks.
Another important thing about the Light Phone is the way that it has been designed. It is really small, clean and good looking. You can literally fit it in any pocket and it is really lightweight, which makes it the perfect companion for everyday use and for every outfit you decide to go out with. I am using the Samsung Galaxy S8+ and when you put a protective case on it, you have to always put up with the fact that you’ve got to put it in a pocket when you’re out, and I got to tell you that carrying a 6.7″ device in your pocket is not the most comfortable thing you can do. There are even some days that I wish I had a second phone that I could just take out with me and use it for the basic things, which is maybe the reason why I like the Light Phone and its idea so much.
How can you not like such an easy to use device? I mean, it has only 2 buttons for up and down that you use to scroll around the handful of options on the operating system. It is not Android or Apple, so it means that it is as simple as it could be. The second generation of the Light Phone will include directions and music playing, which are the only things missing in the first model and I agree that they should be in the second version at all cost! Nobody can get addicted to GPS and directions, but it is a valuable tool that could be even life-saving at times.
Music is something that you wouldn’t like to spend a day without, so I cherish the idea of putting it as a feature as well. Most importantly, the Light Phone 2 will feature a 3.5mm jack, which nowadays could not be even found in the most expensive smartphones, so it beats Apple in at least one aspect in terms of innovation (almost).
If you would like to get your hands on the Light Phone, you can do it for the cost of $100 and you can choose between two colorways – black and white. The second generation is what I’d suggest to those who are considering themselves as kind of addicted to smartphones because at least you’ll have music and playlists that you can listen to at your free time. The bad thing is that the Light Phone 2 costs twice the amount, which for me is ridiculous. I am sure that the price will fall down, so for those who wouldn’t like to spend $200 on the device, go for the first generation!
Special thanks to:
Lewis from UnboxTherapy YouTube channel – video for the Light Phone!
