I would never buy this, but it's nice that it exists

Recently, I watched a YouTube video about phones designed to minimize distractions. While they aim to solve the problem of smartphone overuse, their utility in today's world is questionable. Essential tasks like using banking apps, navigation, communication, and parking apps often require a smartphone, making these distraction-free phones less practical.

The video mentioned some "smart" distraction-free phones, but if you need those features, why not just adjust the settings on your regular smartphone to achieve a similar minimalist setup? Ultimately, traditional dumb phones seem too limited for modern needs, while the smarter minimalist phones are essentially just smartphones with minimalist settings. It's hard to see who the target audience for these phones really is.

Crap - this is not compact. WE WANT SMALL PHONES!

If it was this size but thinner I wouldnt even mind. Although slightly longer and skinnier would be better.

Over $400 is a ridiculous price point though and makes the whole thing a non-starter. I get that its a minimalist product and inherently not going to be the most popular thing, therefore priced accordingly, but its OS barely looks better than a mid 2000s palm pilot

Yeah I really like the idea of an E-ink screen for my phone, both for sparing my eyes and my battery. But the way they cripple these phones make them a no-go.

That's coming from someone who is typically very mindful of keeping myself undistracted - I have the alarm clock from the same company just so I can leave the phone in the kitchen when I go to bed.

Here's an idea for a "distractions free" phone:

Any android phone.

In a work peofile use a primary launcher app that only shows 3 or 4 important apps. Disable everything else.

Lock all the rest in the normal profile with a password that is a randomized 32 or longer character string that you can't possibly memorize.

Write it down in glaze on a plate, which you smash and store in a bag with some super glue.

Just uninstall all social media apps

honestly the target audience is young 20 somethings. older folks like me grew up having to use different methods to keep stuff together. address book/cassette player/CD player/date book.

but then the smart phone happened and suddenly even mp3 players were obsolete. so us older folks embraced the functionality of a device we once needed an entire bags worth of stuff to replicate from our youth. I've never looked back from the smartphone because I remember actually carrying all that stuff.

these younger people were born when tech was getting to that point. and their formative years were spent with smart devices. so their brains seem wired to want to break "free" from it.

or at least thats just my theory. the 'iPad kid' generation is starting to be adults and they've not had the distance between smart devices that the older generations have.

again, just my take on it.