Not smart but clever? The return of 'dumbphones'

Image source, Getty Images

Robin West is an outlier among her peers because she doesn't have a phone.

She uses a dumbphone instead of scrolling through apps all day.

These are basic phones with limited functions compared to the iPhone. You can only make and receive calls. If you are lucky, you can listen to radio and take photos, but not use the internet or apps.

Some of the first phones that people bought in the late 1990s are similar to these devices.

Image source, Getty Images

Two years ago, Ms West decided to ditch her phone. She was lured by the low price of a brick phone when she was looking for a replacement.

Her current phone is from French firm MobiWire. She doesn't have an expensive monthly data bill because it has no smartphones.

She says she didn't notice until she bought a brick phone.

She doesn't think she will ever buy another phone. I am definitely more proactive.

Image source, Robin West

Dumbphones are enjoying a revival. SEMrush reported that searches for them increased by 89% between the years of 2018?

One in 10 mobile phone users in the UK have a dumbphone according to a study.

Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at price comparison site Uswitch.com, says that fashion, nostalgia, and them appearing in TikTok videos have a part to play in the dumbphone revival.

The revival was sparked by the re-release of the 3310, one of the biggest-selling mobiles of all time.

He says that dumbphones can compete with the latest premium models when it comes to performance and features, but they can also beat them in important areas such as battery life and durability.

Five years ago, Przemek Olejniczak, a psychologist, swapped his phone for a longer- lasting one. He realized that there were other benefits.

Image source, Przemek Olejniczak

He says that before he would always be stuck on the phone, checking anything and everything, browsing Facebook or the news, or other facts.

I have more time for my family. I am not addicted to liking, sharing, commenting, or describing my life to other people. I have more privacy now.

New Tech Economy explores how technological innovation will shape the new economic landscape.

Mr Olejniczak admits that it was difficult to switch from his phone to a computer. I have learned to do those things at home. I got used to it.

Light Phone is a New York company. The norm for such products is that they allow users to listen to music and podcasts, and link byBluetooth to headphones. The firm pledges that its phones will never have social media, clickbait news, email, an internet browser, or any other anxiety-inducing infinite feed.

Image source, Light Phone

The company says it had its best year for financial performance in the last decade. The prices for dumbphones start at 99.

Light Phone co-founder, Kaiwei Tang, says that the device was initially created to be used as a secondary phone for people who wanted to take a break from their phone for a weekend, but now half of the firm's customers use it as their primary device.

Image source, Kaiwei Tang

If aliens came to earth, they would think that mobile phones were superior to humans. We want to offer an alternative as consumers are realising that something is wrong.

The main customers of the firm are between the ages of 25 and 35. He was expecting buyers to be younger.

Prof Wachter, a senior research fellow in artificial intelligence at Oxford University, says it is understandable that some of us are looking for simpler mobile phones.

The ability to connect calls and send short messages is almost a side feature of a smart phone.

She says that with notifications, updates, and breaking news constantly disrupting your day, it can keep you on edge. It can be overwhelming.

Image source, Sandra Wachter

Prof Wachter says that it makes sense that some of us are now looking for simpler technologies and think that dumbphones might offer a return to simpler times. It might allow for more time to fully concentrate on a single task. It might calm people down. Studies show that too much choice can cause unhappiness.

Robin West says that many people are confused by her choice of mobile. So when are you getting a phone? Are you getting one this week?

Will Smale is the editor of the New Tech Economy series.