I hate my iPhone, but will I love this?
I’ve been following the Light Phone since its inception, always curious if it could help me be less of a smombie. And the new Light Phone 3 by the Light Company finally feels like something I could actually use.
This thing is still simple. Still black-and-white. Still no browser, email, social media, or Pokémon TCG Pocket. But unlike its predecessors, it finally has some of the basics that make a smartphone smart enough to be practical: maps, notes, music, podcasts, a calendar, and yes, a real camera (with a physical shutter button).
The hardware got a serious glow-up too:
- 3.9” matte OLED screen
- 50MP rear and 8MP front cameras
- 128GB storage, 6GB RAM
- USB-C, 5G, eSIM + nano SIM, NFC, fingerprint unlock
- A 1800 mAH battery
In Sunday’s overkill digest, I mentioned that I am currently in a toxic relationship with my iPhone. I recently got very aware of how much time I was spending and wasting on it, mindlessly scrolling through social media (and I don’t even use TikTok), opening up random websites, or refreshing my email inboxes even though I just refreshed said inboxes.
So I’ve been trying to somehow make my phone less appealing. I deleted all social media apps, and other time sinks (email, RSS feeds), and simply put it out of sight. But a smartphone has too many advantages to simply get rid of it and get a dumb phone instead: maps, banking apps, music, a way to jot down notes when no pen and paper is close, a way to stay in touch when you really need to, a way to quickly look up important info.
The Light Phone 3 (and other e-ink-based devices) intrigues me quite a lot. I’m interested in trying one and figuring out how little “smart” I could get away with in a phone.
If you’re in that same boat and tired of your screen owning you, this might be the first truly viable escape hatch.
The Light Phone 3 ships now for $599 from thelightphone.com.
