Why I Pre-Ordered the Light Phone 3, a Minimalist Phone With Screws and a Wheel

The Light Phone 2 was a credit-card-sized “minimalist” phone with an e-ink screen and a slew of shortcomings. Now, the Light Phone 3 appears to be solving some of those problems, and I’ve placed a pre-order. Despite how much I enjoy using my powerful smartphone, I’m considering making the shift.

I Like Minimalist Phones

I wouldn’t say that being a technology writer means I use my phone more than most people, but it does mean I probably think about my phone more often.

There’s a lot I love about modern phones, but there’s a lot I don’t. Much of this can be summed up by the quiet tug of a device that’s so entertaining and capable of doing so much at any hour of the day. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, there’s a reason to grab my phone either for work or for play, and I have to resist that urge whenever I want to do something (anything) else.

I didn’t feel this pull from the old “feature phones,” which, despite having a number of functions, felt like they performed a singular task. They were for calling or texting people while also doubling as an MP3 player. Doing other things simply didn’t involve my phone. There are many reasons to go back to using a dumb phone.

Minimalist phones bring back that old dynamic, but unlike basic flip phones (which are still being released, believe it or not—see the TCL Flip 3), they don’t feel like someone stopped the clock back in the early aughts. Just because I want something simple doesn’t mean I want old tech. Minimalist phones like the Light Phone, Punkt MP02, and Mudita Pure offer a very limited feature set but are appealing in their own ways.

I think of them like the Playdate, a black-and-white game console that feels like a modern take on the Game Boy. No one argues that it’s better than a Nintendo Switch, but thousands of people have bought one anyway, and they love it. There is something to be appreciated about a niche device designed with care specifically for the kind of people who are into such a thing.

I Used the Light Phone 2 for Years

I carried around a Light Phone 2 for years and loved it. In many ways, it delivered on its promise. No, buying a Light Phone doesn’t magically make you less addicted to screens or turn you into an expert at all of your hobbies, but it does add friction where you might want there to be friction. Example: I watch much less YouTube when I have a Light Phone because while it’s super convenient to watch a video on my phone at any time, I don’t necessarily want to grab a laptop or a tablet. I’m also not going to walk down the hall staring at my laptop screen and ignoring family members the same way it’s easy to do with my phone.

Yet the Light Phone 2 came out in 2019. There were choices made with the technology available at the time that made the phone a harder sell today. I ultimately stopped using mine primarily for this reason. Plus, there were a few design decisions that added just a tad more friction than I wanted.

When I read the Light Phone 3 announcement, nearly every single issue I had appears to be solved (though until I get the actual hardware, I can’t say for sure).

What I’m Looking Forward to in the Light Phone 3

One of my biggest frustrations with the Light Phone 2 had nothing to do with all the apps I had to give up. No, it was the charging port. The phone used microUSB. This charging cable was once ubiquitous, but those days are gone.

Then, there’s the nationwide retirement of 3G and the transition to 5G. At the time the Light Phone 2 launched, being able to connect to 3G and 4G networks was enough to provide reliable coverage. Now that 3G is gone in the US, carriers have poured their resources into 5G and voice calls are placed using LTE, the Light Phone 2 is less reliable at being a phone. Being so small, it also never had strong radios to begin with. When I moved to the house I live in now, I sold my Light Phone 2 because it simply doesn’t get a strong, reliable signal.

The Light Phone 3 announcement says the phone will come with a USB-C port, 5G, and stronger radios. If Light re-released the Light Phone 2 with just these changes alone, I’d have been tempted to get one.

Sometimes, a Camera Is Necessary

The Light Phone 2 doesn’t have a camera. I was intrigued by this as a bit of a social experiment. What would it mean to go back to no longer carrying a camera on me at all times?

Ultimately, this is an area where societal expectations cause a lot of frustration. Our phones have had cameras for decades, gaining the feature long before smartphones came around. People ask me to take a picture of something and send it all the time. When I say I can’t view the picture they’re trying to send me, they’re flabbergasted (though the Light Phone 2 technically supports forwarding picture messages you receive to your email).

When I ask folks if we can use email instead, some people consider that a hard pass. Quite frankly, when my new home was being built, a lot of contractors just wanted to exchange picture messages and were not the kind of people who would be in my life long enough for me to want to explain my minimalist phone choices.

The Light Phone 3 has two cameras, and the company says it will include the ability to view photos on the device. This is now feasible since the phone is switching from an e-ink display to an OLED one capable of showing vivid colors.

These cameras don’t merely come with a smartphone-style app. Instead, the Light Phone 3 has a wheel on the side that serves as a clickable shutter button. It aims to provide tactile feedback when you’re taking pictures, making the phone feel like both a feature phone and a point-and-shoot camera. As someone who bought a point-and-shoot to carry around with my Light Phone 2, this is a change I’m here for.

A Phone Built to Last

The Light Phone 2 appeals to a lot of people looking to shrink their digital footprint, and part of that means the e-waste they generate. Unfortunately, while Light has supported the software on their phone for half a decade, the phone isn’t easily repaired. It has a non-removable battery, and there is no easy way to get at the screen.

The Light Phone 3 has a removable back. To get to the battery, you just need to remove a few tiny screws. This isn’t ideal for hotswapping the battery to extend your battery life, but it gives you options when trying to lengthen the lifespan of your phone. Just pop off the back and get a new battery.

Light doesn’t know if it can make the screen more easily repairable yet, but that’s their intent. Still, with a case and a screen protector, it’s often the battery that signals the end of a phone’s life. Being able to swap that out is huge.

I don’t know for sure whether the Light Phone 3 will become my ride or die. It’s not out yet, after all. In the meantime, I’ve turned one of my existing phones into a minimalist dumb phone. As cool as the Light Phone 3 sounds, its strongest competition may ultimately be a paired-down version of the phone I already own. Or I may continue to find that having one device that does it all, like my Galaxy Z Fold 5 with Samsung DeX, feels more minimalist than carrying around a bunch of separate tech.