I’ve been using a flip phone as my daily driver for a while now. The smartphone is still around, but it mostly sits in a drawer until bureaucracy or banking apps force me to use it.
For me, the benefits are clear: less distraction, more focus, better sleep. But I know for many people it’s not so easy. Essential apps, social pressure, work requirements… these are real blockers.
I’d like to start a discussion (almost like an informal poll):
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If you thought about switching, what’s the single biggest thing that holds you back?
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Is it banking? Messaging? Maps? Something else?
I’m genuinely curious because if we can identify the main pain points, maybe it’s possible to work on solutions or even start a small project around it.
So: what would need to change for you to actually give a flip phone a try?
There is nothing about those that can’t run on KaiOS, which comes with Google maps and runs on most dumb phones on the market today.
There’s a terminology issue here, feature phones run apps, flip phones and true dumb phones shouldn’t run apps or have any data connections. But it seems more common now to draw the line at Smartphone and anything else is “dumb” even if it’s basically just a 2008 smartphone.
The line between smartphone and dumbphone has always been very blurry.