Minimal Phone 2 - Hacker News

Posted by nashashmi 5 days ago

328 points | 258 commentspage 4

alexjplant 5 days ago|

I'm happy that this hardware exists but an easier solution is to quit social media, viciously curate your notifications and apps, and install an ad blocker. My phone only alerts me if somebody calls me, asks me a question specifically in a group chat, or DMs me. I never see any ads or any FOMO nags. Life is pretty good.

dwedge 5 days ago||

I did that and now constantly check hacker news

nottorp 5 days ago||

Do you? If you disable all notifications you have to make a conscious effort to open a time sink. In time you'll start to forget, esp if you get busy with something.

And HN is arguably better than doomscrolling TikTok or Facebook, even with the current LLM/Rust/LLM in Rust spam.

darrmit 4 days ago||

This. I still struggle a bit with compulsively checking Slack or email during the workday, and sometimes I take extended breaks from HN just to avoid the time suck (among other things) but this + quitting social media entirely 2 years ago means I got my attention span back.

meerita 4 days ago||

Sorry, I just see a physical keyboard on a phone, and I cannot be convinced that it's a good idea. We're past that. If it were truly minimal, it wouldn't have a physical keyboard. It would have a full-screen display with a minimal but useful OS and UI/UX.

FinnLobsien 5 days ago||

This is great. I really like the “dumb phone” movement.

Sadly for now they’re too expensive to buy just as an experiment.

chrysoprace 5 days ago||

It's still full Android. You could get part of the way there by just installing a different launcher.

sama004 5 days ago||

my question is why is it soo expensive if you are just making a dumb phone, give me a 100-200$ option with less ram and storage i'll be all in

FinnLobsien 4 days ago|||

Exactly. I would want:

-Phone/texting -Messengers like WhatsApp/Telegram/etc. -Maps -Music/podcasts

Ideally with e-ink.

I want something that doesn't compete with a full-fledged smartphone (which I'd still keep for travel and stuff). I want something to take to the office, hanging out with friends, etc, where bringing the smartphone becomes a decision.

wink 4 days ago|||

I think if you ask 5 people what dumb (enough) phone meant you'd get seven answers.

For some anything after SMS is not dumb enough (ok, this still exists), others would be ok with just a browser, and you said Maps and WA/etc/.

I am not even sure I could give you a good enough definition, I'm kinda happy enough with Android and just ignore any dumb/minimal angle, because if I only take a phone with me I generally want to potentially use it as a computer replacement. There are really only 2 people I call regularly.

FinnLobsien 4 days ago|||

> I think if you ask 5 people what dumb (enough) phone meant you'd get seven answers.

Yes, but I think anyone interested in this would know what they don't want: TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, or any other app that wants you to spend maximum time in their app.

Unless we're talking about complete purists who basically want a 2003 level phone that only does call/text, there's lots of flexibility.

Someone who wants a less addicting phone but doesn't necessarily require maps is unlikely to not buy because of a maps app. It's not like they'd spend 3 hours a day getting directions.

what 4 days ago|||

I honestly don’t think you’d get that much variation. Beyond phone/sms, the list would likely end up with just these:

- decent camera

- messaging apps (WhatsApp/telegram/signal/etc)

- email

- maps

- rideshare (uber/lyft)

- mobile wallet (tap to pay)

People will also demand a browser, but that kind of defeats the purpose. All the apps should be utilities that you can’t spend hours in.

I suspect people would also demand music streaming, but I’m not sure really why you need that.

numpad0 4 days ago|||

low volume products are expensive

ralferoo 4 days ago||

Wonder why they chose a different layout for the symbols on the physical keyboard than the default keyboard for Android. I'm sure that'll confuse a lot of people considering migrating, or worse, having to switch between them.

dmitrygr 4 days ago||

Reminds me of the peek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peek_(mobile_Internet_device)

aetherspawn 5 days ago||

Neat. This is pretty close to what I’d be looking for, if I could really afford to pull the trigger on something like this (realistically I can’t - iMessage on laptop is too important for work).

If it natively plugged into the Apple ecosystem, now that would be difficult to refuse.

konaraddi 4 days ago||

How long would the phone get security updates?

Also looks like they sell cellular plans too https://plans.minimalcompany.com/#plans

czhu12 4 days ago||

I find for these what happens is that the phone itself can’t actually install certain banking or security apps, and also our workplace restricts it.

Inevitably I have to carry two phones around Anyone find a solution around this?

httpdemon 4 days ago|

I’m in the same boat. I’m a principal engineer for a critical platform at a major retailer. I would LOVE to just have a communication device in my pocket but I’m required to have access to work comms and 2FA apps. I’ve considered using a pre-paid line with a burner for just those and carrying two phones… but that’s such a hassle.

mrtnmcc 5 days ago||

Reminds me of Jobs saying.. the problem with phones these days is the bottom 1/3.

Some still disagree.

sandebert 3 days ago|

I have a love affair with my Kobo Clara Colour. More than once I've thought it would be great if I could call and send sms with it. (Using a Bluetooth headset.)

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