The phone that isn’t meant to be used is back. The Light Phone 2 adds texting and some other proposed features to the ultra-minimalist phone range, and it’s now shipping to customers that funded the project on Indiegogo.
The device raised $3.5 million through its Indiegogo campaign, but Light said it has raised an additional $8.4 million in seed funding. The result of all that support? A somewhat successful product that you can now get straight from the Light Phone website for $350 a pop. Adding in the original Kickstarter campaign, Light has raised $12.3 million.
If you have a problem disconnecting from your smartphone, then it’s possible you followed the Light Phone’s crowdfunding campaign last year. The Light Phone, a simple credit card-sized block, was intended to allow users to disconnect from the rapidly interconnected networks woven into life, and focus on the world around them instead. To facilitate that, the Light Phone was meant to replace your phone during holidays, hiking trips, or whenever you needed to disconnect, and live with no internet connection, texting, or anything outside of a simple phone and options for quick dialing.
The Light Phone 2 expands on the original phone, adding an E Ink touchscreen, texting, and an alarm. You can check out our in-depth impressions of the phone in our Light Phone 2 review.
Doesn’t adding extra features take away from the minimalist idea of the original Light Phone? Apparently not. According to the creators, the Light Phone 2 aims to increase what users can do with the phone, while still keeping them safely sheltered away from major social media, the news, and other such distractions that can draw people in. In Light’s eyes, being able to text your friends or wake up on time doesn’t take away from the original phone’s remit.
In addition to the extra features, Light said additional “tools” like turn-by-turn navigation, voice memos, ride-sharing services, hotspot functionality, and a calculator will be coming to the phone via a software update. In terms of hardware, it’s powered by 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, and a Qualcomm MSM8909W processor. The 500mAh battery might seem small, but with these meager specs and an E Ink display, it nets about three days of use and seven days on standby mode.
The original Light Phone was something of a success for Light, with the phone being shipped out to 10,000 users. However, the phone’s price of entry was high for a device that barely did anything at $150. Now that crowdfunding campaigns are over, the Light Phone 2 comes at $350 — more expensive than the budget Honor 7X — so it’s expensive even considering the added features. Still, if you’re interested, you can head straight to the Light Phone website to order one.
Updated on September 4, 2019: The Light Phone 2 is available for $350.
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