Since 2011, the share of Americans who own a smartphone has skyrocketed from 35% to 90%. Also on the rise? The percentage of Americans who feel like they’re addicted to them. Now, the market for “dumbphones” is quietly booming to help people curb their screen time.
Also known as “feature phones,” dumbphones are deliberately designed to be less alluring than their smart counterparts. This means fewer capabilities — many are simply early model cell phones, doing little more than calling and texting. Some are even designed to look boring, with black and white screens replacing brilliant screens and colorful app icons.
Even if you don’t think your smartphone usage rises to the level of “addiction,” a dumbphone could help you spend less time doomscrolling or obsessing over social media and more time on activities that are better for your productivity and mental health.
While you could, in theory, dumb down your current smartphone by deleting apps or blocking your access to them using a service like Unpluq or Brick, that approach requires a level of willpower that not everyone possesses — you can always reinstall TikTok on your iPhone, but with most dumphones, you won’t even have access to an app store.
The right dumbphone gives you everything you need — and not a single feature more.
Once you decide you want a dumber phone, you then need to figure out which features you can’t live without: Will you be lost without a navigation app? Couldn’t imagine life without a camera in your pocket? Some dumbphones only work with certain phone plans, too, so that’s another factor to consider — are you OK making the switch to another carrier?
To make it easier for you to navigate the dumbphone landscape, we’ve compiled details on nine options, ranging in cost from $80 to $800. Each one has different capabilities than the others, helping ensure you can find the dumbphone that gives you everything you need — and not a single feature more.
Light’s Light Phone 2
- Cost: $299
- Status: Available now
- Dimensions: 3.77 x 2.20 x 0.34 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, alarm, calendar, notes, calculator, navigation, music player
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you want a phone that’s minimal on features and size. The front face of the Light Phone 2 is only slightly larger than a credit card, making it the smallest phone on this list.
May not be for you if… you’re a quiet talker. Because of its size, the phone’s microphone will likely be farther from your mouth than if you were using a different phone, and some reviewers have noted that it often picks up background noise during calls. It does work with Bluetooth headsets, however.
Light’s Light Phone 3
- Cost: $799 ($399 for pre-order until 7/16/24)
- Status: Available February 2025
- Dimensions: 4.17 x 2.81 x 0.47 inches
- Capabilities: Everything from Light Phone 2, plus a camera and flashlight
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you want the smartest dumbphone available. The Light Phone 2 was already packed with features (as far as dumbphones go), and the addition of a flashlight and camera to the stack makes the Light Phone 3 even more userful.
May not be for you if… you’re on a budget. Even at the heavily discounted pre-order price, the Light Phone 3 is one of the most expensive dumbphones on this list.
Lively’s Jitterbug Flip2
- Cost: $79.99
- Status: Available now
- Dimensions: 4.30 x 2.19 x 0.75 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, camera, alarm
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you’re over the age of 65. Lively designed the Jitterbug Flip2 specifically for senior citizens, giving it large buttons, a loud speaker, and hearing aid compatibility. It also has a button that, when pressed, connects the caller to a certified Urgent Response agent who can help in an emergency situation.
May not be for you if… want your phone to be able to do anything above the bare minimum or like your current phone carrier — the Jitterbug Flip2 requires a Lively phone plan.
Mudita’s Pure
- Cost: $369.99
- Status: Available now
- Dimensions: 5.67 x 2.33 x 0.57 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, alarm, calendar, flashlight, music player
- WiFi: No
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you care about Specific Absorption Rates (SARs). A phone’s SAR indicates how much radiofrequency energy your body will absorb while using it, and Mudita says the Pure has “possibly the lowest SAR value among all phones on the market.”
May not be for you if… you use AT&T or Verizon. The same antenna that gives the Pure its low SAR rating prevents it from meeting some of those carriers’ certification requirements. You’ll need a T-Mobile plan to use this dumbphone in the US.
The Minimal Company’s Minimal Phone
- Cost: $499 ($399 for pre-orders)
- Status: Available October 2024
- Dimensions: 5.59 x 3.07 x 0.34 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, camera, alarm, calendar, notes, calculator, flashlight, navigation, music, Play Store apps
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… no other dumbphone meets your needs. Because the Minimal Phone includes access to the Play Store, you can download any apps you know you won’t be able to function without. If you miss the full keyboard on your old Blackberry, this could also be the phone for you.
May not be for you if… access to the Play Store means you’ll immediately download the time-wasting apps you’re trying to avoid by buying a dumbphone in the first place.
Punkt.’s MP02
- Cost: $299
- Status: Available now
- Dimensions: 4.61 x 2.02 x 0.57 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, alarm, calendar, notes, calculator
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you like the aesthetics. Jasper Morrison, an acclaimed Brit product designer known for his simple but refined pieces, designed the MP02, which comes in black, light gray, or light blue.
May not be for you if… you like your Verizon plan. US customers are advised to use AT&T or T-Mobile.
GreenTouch’s Mindful Phone
- Cost: $306.99
- Status: Available now
- Dimensions: 5.60 x 2.60 x 0.41 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, camera, alarm, calendar, notes, calculator, music player
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you keep kosher. GreenTouch designed this “kosher phone” to align with the Orthodox Jewish community’s restrictions on the use of tech. You certainly don’t have to be Jewish to use the Mindful phone, so grab one if you like the look and features it offers (and don’t mind the addition of the Yiddish alphabet to the keyboard).
May not be for you if… you aren’t great with directions — the Mindful phone lacks any sort of navigation features.
Sunbeam’s F1 Horizon
- Cost: $249
- Status: Available now
- Dimensions: 4.33 x 2.28 x 0.91 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, camera, alarm, calendar, flashlight, navigation, music player, weather
- WiFi: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
May be for you if… you miss the satisfying snap every time you closed your old flip phone. The F1 Horizon is also a good choice if you rely on your phone for weather reports as it comes with a built-in weather app.
May not be for you if… you’d rather leave flip phones in the ‘90s.
Techless’s Wisephone II
- Cost: $399
- Status: Available Summer 2024
- Dimensions: 6.37 x 3.02 inches
- Capabilities: Calls, texts, camera, alarm, notes, calculator, flashlight, navigation, music player
- WiFi connectivity: Yes
- Bluetooth connectivity: Yes
May be for you if… you like the style of your current smartphone. Advertised as “the world’s smartest dumb phone,” the Wisephone 2 isn’t radically different from the average smartphone (on the outside, anyways).
May not be for you if… you like your current phone plan. Techless requires users to subscribe to one of its carrier plans.
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