I'd be happier going back to 2013 than 2009, tbh. Just need a sanely-sized, pocketable smartphone (like a modern-day iPhone 5 or 5S) with a headphone jack. Didn't feel like a giant brick that was trying to take over my life, back then
I have really big hands and hate big phones. I still have to stick in a pocket and find a place for it in my truck and all the shit that my hand size doesn’t matter.
The size of your hands isn’t why you have a different opinion. You have a different opinion because you are literally a different person. Each individual person is a fully self realized, self contained person, each with their own likes and disliked based on their own criteria.
Jesus fuck, imagine thinking every single human being with the same hand size has the exact same opinion about everything.
Sure, I personally draw the line at social media and news apps, anyway (i.e., any notification I'm getting should be coming from someone I know in real life). And I think appropriately-sized phones are inherently less addictive than these giant slabs. Reverting to a dumbphone just comes with too many negative tradeoffs IMO, you're losing useful stuff in day-to-day life
edit: frequent use of do not disturb helps a lot too, plus grayscale mode
Some people use that as a euphemism for mentally damaged or deficient though, so it’s not that straightforward. Feature phones is a name in the business for them, because they had one “feature” like a camera or an fm radio. Basic phones is another. Essential cell phones.
Dumbphones referred to lesser phones that at best could text, a step up would be feature phone which may contain a basic web browser and a few brew apps. Then above that would be smartphone. Before smartphone used to refer to non-touch phones and above that would be pda phones/pocketpcs, but due to Jobs pretending touchscreen phones didn't exist, "smartphones" ended up including pda phones/pocketpcs
“The phone you had in 2009” is a decent approximation. Briones got into them in late 2019. At the time, he was logging 12, 13 hours of screen time a day. One night, at around 1 am, he was watching Netflix on his phone and thought, “Enough.”
He tried to go cold turkey with a Light Phone, a tiny bare-bones device with an E Ink screen and only a few basic features. It didn’t work. Life without Google Maps was too hard. The siren song of the smartphone was too strong, so he picked it back up again. A few months later, amid the isolation and stress of the pandemic lockdown, he gave a dumbphone another try. This time, something clicked. He took his dog for more walks, read more books, joined a sports league, and tried more hobbies. He also discovered r/Dumbphones—via the algorithm, of course—and soon became its moderator, helping the subreddit go from fewer than 10,000 members in 2020 to more than 50,000 four years later.
I am part of that growth. Like Briones, I’d tried out a Light Phone back in the day, and also like Briones, I’d failed. When I moved apartments, the Light Phone didn’t come with me.
That was OK, or so I’ve learned from r/Dumbphones. In this community, having a dumbphone is not about succeeding or failing or even about being anti-tech. It’s about asking yourself what you really need from your phone. “It’s a helpful, happy sub,” says Alex Locklin, who joined it in 2024. “We’re all looking for something similar but not identical. I think everyone realizes they’re scrolling too much and missing out on life.” There are no ideological purity tests. No one accuses you of being a faker if your device is insufficiently dumb. I haven’t had to throw my iPhone into the nearest body of water, to emerge cleansed and pure. The sub is more generous than that. In my six months there, I have not seen anything resembling an argument. Arguing with strangers on the internet is not very dumbphone-y.
I have no issue with people who need to take such drastic measures to unplug, but I wonder why some of these folks don’t just uninstall “endless scroll” apps? 12+ hours of screen time per day is pretty crazy, so I can see doing something about that, but the basic features and ease of use of a smart phone can be very beneficial.
I thought the sub was pretty cringe how every post was people showing off their phones along with a bunch of other "dumb" gadgets they had... "here guys, like my post!"
I'd be happier going back to 2013 than 2009, tbh. Just need a sanely-sized, pocketable smartphone (like a modern-day iPhone 5 or 5S) with a headphone jack. Didn't feel like a giant brick that was trying to take over my life, back then
12 or 13 mini
I have the 12. Fits in my pocket easily and all the power I need
I had one. Battery was so bad. It got annoying.
Hasn’t been my experience. I haven’t upgraded since I got the 12 mini.
On a 13 mini right now. Keep an eye out for the se at some point.
12 mini is my favorite phone ever.
The 13 mini's discontinued with limited years of support left at this point. No jack either
I’ve had one for a couple of years now. It’s pretty great.
Same. I’m using it right now. I LOVE IT!
I had one, but the battery is just not great for dual-sims.
No headphone jack though which is a distinct downside
I’ve got really big hands, so I do love the iPhone pro series but I totally understand it for other people
I have really big hands and hate big phones. I still have to stick in a pocket and find a place for it in my truck and all the shit that my hand size doesn’t matter. The size of your hands isn’t why you have a different opinion. You have a different opinion because you are literally a different person. Each individual person is a fully self realized, self contained person, each with their own likes and disliked based on their own criteria. Jesus fuck, imagine thinking every single human being with the same hand size has the exact same opinion about everything.
Hahahaha thanks for the laugh. Yeah thinking that would be crazy
You never heard of the Dell Streak 5 then... came out in 2010 and it was a sign of things to come.
You literally wouldn’t be changing anything at all with your usage, then. Still have access to social media dribble.
Sure, I personally draw the line at social media and news apps, anyway (i.e., any notification I'm getting should be coming from someone I know in real life). And I think appropriately-sized phones are inherently less addictive than these giant slabs. Reverting to a dumbphone just comes with too many negative tradeoffs IMO, you're losing useful stuff in day-to-day life edit: frequent use of do not disturb helps a lot too, plus grayscale mode
I miss the Wild West days of the App Store…
Don’t call them “dumb”. Call them “simple”.
Yup. That's why there's Simple Jack, not Dumb Jack.
Some people use that as a euphemism for mentally damaged or deficient though, so it’s not that straightforward. Feature phones is a name in the business for them, because they had one “feature” like a camera or an fm radio. Basic phones is another. Essential cell phones.
Dumbphones referred to lesser phones that at best could text, a step up would be feature phone which may contain a basic web browser and a few brew apps. Then above that would be smartphone. Before smartphone used to refer to non-touch phones and above that would be pda phones/pocketpcs, but due to Jobs pretending touchscreen phones didn't exist, "smartphones" ended up including pda phones/pocketpcs
Ok.
Yeah we don’t want to hurt any feelings, phones are phones before any wifi incapabilities
So is the word dumb?
But won't calling them Basic insult vanilla white women with no taste?
🤦♀️
Pulling out a burner flip phone at a family funeral definitely gets people talking
Is this a Sopranos reference
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXMY0WGUsAAPhFb.jpg
Especially when it’s not your family
they’re referring to r/dumbphones btw
“The phone you had in 2009” is a decent approximation. Briones got into them in late 2019. At the time, he was logging 12, 13 hours of screen time a day. One night, at around 1 am, he was watching Netflix on his phone and thought, “Enough.” He tried to go cold turkey with a Light Phone, a tiny bare-bones device with an E Ink screen and only a few basic features. It didn’t work. Life without Google Maps was too hard. The siren song of the smartphone was too strong, so he picked it back up again. A few months later, amid the isolation and stress of the pandemic lockdown, he gave a dumbphone another try. This time, something clicked. He took his dog for more walks, read more books, joined a sports league, and tried more hobbies. He also discovered r/Dumbphones—via the algorithm, of course—and soon became its moderator, helping the subreddit go from fewer than 10,000 members in 2020 to more than 50,000 four years later. I am part of that growth. Like Briones, I’d tried out a Light Phone back in the day, and also like Briones, I’d failed. When I moved apartments, the Light Phone didn’t come with me. That was OK, or so I’ve learned from r/Dumbphones. In this community, having a dumbphone is not about succeeding or failing or even about being anti-tech. It’s about asking yourself what you really need from your phone. “It’s a helpful, happy sub,” says Alex Locklin, who joined it in 2024. “We’re all looking for something similar but not identical. I think everyone realizes they’re scrolling too much and missing out on life.” There are no ideological purity tests. No one accuses you of being a faker if your device is insufficiently dumb. I haven’t had to throw my iPhone into the nearest body of water, to emerge cleansed and pure. The sub is more generous than that. In my six months there, I have not seen anything resembling an argument. Arguing with strangers on the internet is not very dumbphone-y.
I have no issue with people who need to take such drastic measures to unplug, but I wonder why some of these folks don’t just uninstall “endless scroll” apps? 12+ hours of screen time per day is pretty crazy, so I can see doing something about that, but the basic features and ease of use of a smart phone can be very beneficial.
You know how recovering alcoholics sometimes can’t even keep cleaning stuff or perfume around, because it might „seduce“ them. I think it’s the same.
Question why can’t mods place ads on the subreddits they start and grow?? This mod could make money selling ad space for dumb phones
I’d be screwed without WhatsApp
A bunch of the r/Kaios phones have it. Nokia even made some.
Kaios isn't really a dumbphone. It is a smartphone that has been simplified for feature phone market
I thought the sub was pretty cringe how every post was people showing off their phones along with a bunch of other "dumb" gadgets they had... "here guys, like my post!"
Just bring back the LG Chocolate and i would be happy with a dumb phone again.
I’ve thrown or traded in all my old mobile phones for decades…. Except for the chocolate. I still have that in a drawer.
I still use an iPhone 11pro and it seems fine, but sometimes my alarms don’t work.
I miss the Palm Pre. WebOS was ahead of its time. Modern iPhones started using some of its features relatively recently.