I think smartphone use has split into two paths: utility and "discovery." Utilities are the tools we use every day, the tools we want to be stable, fast, and (relatively) unchanging. E.g. sms, maps, browser, phone, camera, email. "Discovery" is all the new, unstable, changing stuff. I think there's an enormous market for a utility smartphone...and it doesn't even have to be a smartphone. Something between an old Nokia and an iPhone, but still a precision-crafted, luxury device.
It's a great distinction, the way you phrased it "utility vs discovery". I think it would be even better for their branding than their current strategy which is pitching 'minimalism'.
> Something between an old Nokia and an iPhone, but still a precision-crafted, luxury device.
There's the Light Phone, but I haven't seen many reviews on it. And its successor, the Light Phone 2, isn't coming out until next year (and it's crowdfunded, so expect more delays).
But if you only wanted a phone for utility, buy an old iPhone 5s, or SE, install just the basics and leave it at that. If you have self-control problems, create a new Apple account and write and put its password in safe so you can't install new apps on a whim. The smaller screen of the 5s will also force you to wait until you're at your computer to do anything lengthy. Or change it to greyscale mode to make the other tasks more unattractive.
Protip for anyone considering grayscale: you can set it to activate on triple click of the home button.
I personally use a red color filter with this setting. Reduces nightime blue light exposure. But one bonus is that the red phone is also way less compelling.
I don't think sms, maps, browser, phone, camera, email are the apps most people use though.
Wikpedia(1) says in the US its actually: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, YoutTube, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Play, Gmail, Instagram, Apple Music and Amazon
For other countries you just have to swap out Messenger for Whatsapp and such...but otherwise its basically the same.
Mind you this includes preinstalled apps!
So I'd say if anything, someone should build a Facebook phone, without all the other crap like phone, email and sms apps :)
This. I have thought a lot about switching to a "dumb phone" recently. There were two things that I use regularly that would make this switch tough though:
1) Google maps. This is so much better than using a built-in or dashboard-mount GPS that it would be hard to go back.
2) Podcasts. I listen to these in the car and having a good app for them is nice.
Ultimately, I decided to delete the apps on my phone that were sucking up my time, but it takes a good amount of self control not to install some of the new ones, and I still succumb to checking my notifications more than I'd like.
I would love the product you are describing though. In particular, I remember my old Nokia had like a week of battery life and I'd be willing to give up a bunch of functionality for that alone.
I made the switch a few years ago. (Got disgusted with myself for neglecting my kids to check work emails). It was much easier than I thought it would be. To your points:
1) Maps - I try to look at an online map before I leave for a place. If the directions are just too complicated I'll print the last leg or so. This has gotten me temporarily lost before, but figuring it out on my own makes for an adventure (definitely not for everybody) and significantly increases my retention of the geography of the area. I do miss real-time traffic-informed routing, though (i.e., Waze).
2) Podcasts - My dumb-phone has an MP3 player, but the UI was so bad (especially for longer tracks like podcasts) that I ended up buying a used iPod Nano. Works great for me.
Downside is the phone is thick ("is that a flip-phone in your pocket, or...") and the UI is clunky, and sometimes it crashes when family send me large files over MMS. I'm seriously considering that Light Phone 2 someone linked above. Seems about perfect.
I'm just coming back from a couple of weeks working disconnected in Cuba.
What I'm going to try is:
1. Have phone forget home and office wifi
2. Turn cellular off for some distracting apps. (Including stuff like email which doesn't require a fast response)
3. Put those apps on their own internet app page
Then, go somewhere with wifi and only use those apps there. I have enough data that my regular use of other apps won't be an issue.
In Cuba, I could only get internet at wifi parks. Apart from that my phone was a wonderful non distracting device which let me set timers, take notes, voice recordings, photos, view offline maps, translate things, played saved podcasts etc
It felt good to have my phone with me at all times, like it augmented things. At home it feels like something I have to keep away.
This may not work, as I can just flip on cell data for those apps. If it doesn't work I'll search for a different solution. But I'm hoping the physical segregation of apps will be enough as a cue.
I used to be obsessed with a "dumb phone" that didn't quite have the utility features you described years ago. I think it was called John's Phone? Loved the idea, but hated the thought of owning two different phones.
Windows Phone hit that spot. Perhaps "luxury device" is pushing it, but as a utility - particularly in the WinPho8 days, before Win10 introduced performance regressions - it was a fantastic platform.
