upvote
The problem is everyone has a different list of deal breakers that they need in a "dumb" device. It starts off simple, such as calls and texts, but some people want to play music, or get directions from maps, or maybe contact relatives with Whatsapp... Eventually you just end up with a smart phone.

Ideally everyone would just have the discipline to just keep what they need on their phone without trying to fix their problem with an overpriced gimmick that they will give up on after a few months.

reply
Those people don’t actually want a dumb phone. They just don’t want to be spied on. That’s not actually that complicated it just makes other people less rich.
reply
Yes! Also be in control of my phone, not having to "deactivate" bloat and garbage brought to me with every update and preinstalled trash I can only "deactivate" not uninstall.

I do want a smartphone - just not one that is in full control of corporations considering me not really a customer, but an asset for their main business - advertisement. Or well the alternative, a company that thinks I am too stupid to be in charge of my phone (and also introduces more and more advertisement).

reply
That seems excessive. In many parts of the world, WhatsApp is the default app for texting people (ie the one you use to contact a plumber or a restaurant) and not having it means the phone fails at its most basic requirements.
reply
I’ve seen businesses try to push that here. It’s surprising how fast they can suddenly respond to other forms of communication when money is involved.

If you don’t want to live under Zuckerberg’s boot you should fight him every chance you get.

SMS still works.

reply
> Every single time one of these new "minimal", "dumb", "lightweight" phones comes up today it's just marketing wrapped around a kneecapped Android device.

Except the Commodore Callback[1], which is based on Linux (SailfishOS). It's pretty minimal and should meet your requirements, in theory.

[1] https://commodore.net/callback/

reply
I spent way, way, way too much time at that site (Partly because it’s a 1990s GeoCities mess).

Compelling, but still wanting a Nokia 33xx brick recall.

reply
The size of this thing really puts me off. It’s like two iPhone minis stacked on top of each other, which seems massive for a flip phone.
reply
Fun Blackberry trivia:

For a while Research in Motion (RIM) / Blackberry had a hiring website at https://rim.jobs , until somebody told them what it meant.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=%22rim.jo...

reply
It was a 302 redirect to http://www.rim.com/careers/ around 2008-2010, according to the Wayback Machine. It could have been around for longer unarchived, of course.
reply
.jobs was introduced in 2005, so not by much. Honestly, I'm surprised it's that old. Thought it was part of the new gTLDs.
reply
There are an odd much smaller collection new new-gTLD-like earlier ones that were introduced a long time before the recent ones, it's a real odd historical artifact of ICANN.
reply
Ugh.

Tcl (programming language) has a fantastic test suite, but building a test or throwaway script with the name “test.tcl” is discouraged.

reply
For a lot of people there's one app that is a non-negotiable, even for a minimalist phone.

For instance: their bank, or 2 factor for their work. Or a parking app for their building. Society now often assumes you can use an app.

It's hard to cover those cases without using one of the two major OSes.

What's the advantage of blackberry over a stripped-down/limited android?

reply
deleted
reply
Sounds great until you're required to install an app to pay for parking.
reply
probably because in these days it's hard to get by without some apps like maps, common messengers, delivery, bank transactions and so on
reply
Agreed. Banking is the killer app imo
reply
Switch to a bank that has a website.

If they can't do online banking in 2026 your bank might actually just be some guy in a monopoly man Halloween costume.

reply
deleted
reply
For what purpose? If you have a debit card, cash app, etc., what urgent need is there for a banking application?
reply
deleted
reply
Uh... Cash App is a banking application.
reply
Yeah. People get confused because they're not a bank, but they offer banking services (as a middleman)
reply
In Australia it's pretty great: my driver's license can be provided by an app on my phone and legally must be accepted if it is. So between that and NFC payment support, a phone is the only thing I need to remember to operate outside the house.
reply
Or you could just take cash, as long as you don't need to drive.
reply
It's pretty great as long as it doesn't evolve into them no longer printing the cards and requiring use of their app, consequently on one of their approved OSes.
reply
I mean yes but that is a case of the slippery slope fallacy: the existence of a future possible decision does not affect whether a current decision is a good one.

If they try to move in that direction, we can protest it then. Denying ourselves a useful capability now doesn't stop it from happening anyway, nor make it more likely.

reply
deleted
reply
This basically collapses to “a different OS than Android.”

The question is why you care about that.

reply
Pinephone and Librem 5 fit. Surprised you said BlackBerry without physical keyboard.
reply
Oh man, remember the BlackBerry 950?
reply
Nope
reply
I’d add payment and maps and ability to login government sites or banks and connecting to your car… we are being very efficiently locked in.
reply
Blackberry is dead. Ibjust wantlinux on phones to gwt to passable level on modern hardware. I can take it from there.
reply
reply
How can you not need maps? That’s crazy to me
reply
minorities are the loudest.

truth is its quite difficult to function today without a smartphone.

banks, uber, food etc etc

edit: remember iphone mini? so "many" asked for it and apple finally made it. it was a flop.

reply
I think the iPhone mini sold 5-10 million units per year. I don't view that as a flop, and I don't think it merits sarcasm around how "many" people wanted it.
reply
I think you should always include the iPhone SE in those numbers. It had similar dimensions, was cheaper and even more minimal. If it weren't for the SE, I would have picked a Mini right away.
reply
People often use this a argument against small phones like this wouldn't be amazing for any company outside apple or Samsung
reply
If small phones were a widely popular thing then there would be a company making them successfully or it would’ve been greater than 5% of iPhone sales. An individual company with zero brand power or presence wouldn’t have any decent sales. This is not even considering that the value proposition would be way worse than just buying a slightly bigger and significantly better phone with more R&D put behind it.

The reality is 90% or more of people don’t care about that or even think about it, this sentiment only exists in online tech enthusiast spaces. If you’re in HN you’re as non-representative of the average consumer as one can get.

reply
Bring back OS licensing, Apple!
reply
Banks for what?

Uber can be done totally headless, without a screen?

Food? Get outta here.

reply