Five years ago, we told you about the Light Phone 2, a minimalist smartphone designed for the most basic tasks and built around a digital ink screen. Its creators have just announced the Light Phone 3, which uses the same concept of digital sobriety, but with some interesting compromises for users.
First, the eINK screen gives way to a 3.92-inch monochrome (black and white) OLED panel. This solution has the advantage of being able to offer something sober and visually relaxing, but with a responsiveness unlike any eINK. What’s more, as Kaiwei Tang (one of the co-creators) doesn’t like screens that are too bright, the smartphone offers a physical dial to adjust the brightness.
Another abandoned point is the absence of a camera: the Light Phone 3 offers an 8-megapixel front sensor and a 50-megapixel rear sensor. Don’t expect to take your vacation photos with them: they are there for videoconferencing and reading QR codes and do not have autofocus, for example. But in the same vein as for the brightness, a physical button is present for taking photos.
The device offers a USB-C port for charging, NFC compatibility and is powered by an entry-level system-on-chip (Snapdragon 4 Gen 2) which offers decent performance with its two fast cores (Cortex A78) and its six low-consumption cores. It comes with 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM. Finally, good news, the battery is removable. The device has the advantage of being compact (106 x 71 x 12 mm for 124 grams) and is 4G compatible but unfortunately does not have a 3.5 mm jack.
For applications, and even if the smartphone is based on Android, everything remains limited. The list of applications includes alarm management, a calculator, a calendar, the ability to record notes and voice memos, and a music player. You’ll also obviously find phone functions and message support, but no browser, alternative messaging or streaming services.
There remains one problem: the price. It is up for pre-order for a January 2025 release at a price of $400. But the company indicates that the final price will be $800, which is frankly high considering the possibilities and far too close to the price of a more classic device. It therefore seems more practical than the Light Phone 2 (singularly limited) but still well behind modern devices… and that is its goal.
