For The Grown Ups Who Might Also Need A Break

Some smartphone alternatives for the adults to consider

I’ve written extensively about smartphone alternatives for kids. I’ve covered the most popular options and their pros and cons here.

Today I’m offering my thoughts about non smartphone alternatives for the adults. If you, like me, have become more self conscious about your own phone usage while trying to figure out what to do for your kids, then today’s article is for you.  

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

I’ve wanted to write about the “Adult Use Case” after noticing 3 things

1. A friend’s college aged daughter mentioned that some of her friends have or were planning to get second phones.  They wanted to experience what it was like to not have instant access all the time. And they wanted to be able to have a break sometimes.

2. Several of my friends and family members carry two phones. In some industries like finance you can’t have work and personal co-mingled in any way. I have heard two phone carriers say that a big benefit of two phones is that you can physically put work away which is a healthy boundary. Its definitely harder to keep that boundary when it's all on the same device.

3. Then this phone debuted at Milan fashion week in April, confirming that boring phones are actually becoming a trend. Tagline: There’s more to social life when there’s less on your phone. FWIW I’m not actually sure this is a real phone— there are no details about actually purchasing it but even if its only a marketing stunt— its notable if also extemley ugly

actual sales page for the boring phone on heineken.com

I went back through my smartphone research with the grown up use case in mind. Here, I present to you 4 interesting options. No Fashion Week Phone did not make the cut but 2 from the original smartphone alternative list did as well as 2 new ones.

Here are 4 very good options for grown ups who want to set better personal boundaries with their smartphones.

Non-Smartphones 

These can be used a second phone or for the brave, as your actual phone

Ghost Mode aka The Premium Dumbphone

Tagline: The Ghost Phone Pro. No browser. No appstore. Just everything you need.

What it is: An unlocked, pared down Android Phone

How it works: It starts as a basic phone plus 4k camera, group texting. You can add back a few essential apps like music (not Spotify etc but an mp3 player), WhatsApp, GPS, Weather

What it does not have: No internet, no app store and no social media. 

What I like: Cool looking, minimal distractions, can add back whatsapp. 

What I don't like: It's expensive at $599. Also, its sold out at the moment. Even the weird green color. And no Spotify best you can do is add back YouTube Music.

More info: https://ghostmode.us/

Where to buy: https://ghostmode.us/products/ghost-phone-pro

Wisephone aka A beautiful, boring phone

Tagline: The world’s smartest dumbphone

What it is: An unlocked, pared down smartphone 

How it works: It starts as a pretty basic phone. Use the Techless drawer to add additional apps (Specifics TBD) if needed.

What it does not have: no internet, no social media

What I like: Promo Code

What I don’t: Its still on pre-order. It's a separate carrier plan. No Spotify

More info: techless.com/digitalmom

Where to buy:  techless.com/digitalmom PROMOCODE: DIGITALMOM

Lightphone aka Bring Back Boring

This one has been around since 2016.

Tagline: Go Light

What it is: An unlocked, pared down smartphone  

How it works: Its is a pretty basic phone. There is no app store or drawer to add on with.

What it does not have: No internet, no social media, no way to add on extras. Light II does not have a camera. Light III has no headphone jack. 

What I like: They kinda look like first gen ipods

What I don’t: Light II has no camera. Light III is expensive and kinda big. Neither has Spotify or a way to customize.

More info: https://www.thelightphone.com/

Where to buy: https://www.thelightphone.com/shop

App + Key

Brick aka Your Phone minus the Distractions

Tagline: Rediscover your phone’s true purpose with a simple tap

What it is: A 3-D printed device (the key) connected to an app on your existing phone 

How it works: Start with your exisitng phone. Downlaod the Brick app. Select anything you consider essential and lock up everything else. Then leave the key somewhere safe so you aren’t tempted. Use the key when you do want to unlock your distractions.

What it does not have: I guess nothing (and everything?)

What I like: Most flexible option in terms of what exactly you need v don’t need. Also the price at $49

What I don’t: Risk of losing the key or needing to unlock the damn phone and not being anywhere near the key. Also it's currently only available for iPhone, Android is in the works. 

More info: https://getbrick.app/

Where to buy: https://getbrick.app/shop

My $0.02

I think the ideal is scenario is having access to all of the smartphone things some of the time. I want a barrier to my extras but not one so inflexible that its a burden.

I struggle with trying to adjust the settings on my phone for the many different scenarios I face throughout the day.

I work wfh, work for myself and use social media for work so the lines between work and home and healthy phone usage are blurry and can shift hour to hour.

Because of this, two different phones won’t work for me. But I am intrigued with the Brick. I am going to try out and report back. 

What about you? Are you considering a smartphone alternative? Tell me all about it in the comments!

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Also the 4 devices mentioned in this article are now in a second tab of my dumbphone matrix (I’ve relinked it below). You can compare the attributes most relevant for adults side by side in there. 

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