We Switched to Dumb(ish)phones So You Won't Have To

[@AnimationHere]

screen time of 26 minute average per day I'm not even joking 🫡

[@cevcena6692]

What do you do all day

[@Trainwreckstv3tv]

Get a life

[@invalidlol]

@@Trainwreckstv3tv *a digital life 💀

[@merhabamerhaba9823]

Same here lol. I lost the damn power button of my phone, accidentally cut off the fingerprint reader while trying to fix something else, i have a broken screen that causes ghost touches and dead areas and I still don't plan on changing or fixing. Even trying to open the damn phone is a burden now and I absolutely LOVE it lol. I'm feeling better than ever. There are even some days i never use my phone at all.

[@ۥۥ0ۥۥ]

@@Trainwreckstv3tv This is a plot twist I didn't see coming.

[@skypenguin8373]

“I wouldn’t watch tiktok on this” yes david that’s the whole idea, you’re getting it now

[@AestheticsOfTheMind]

Honestly laughed at this statement. Yes the very purpose of the dumbphone is to GET OFF tiktok hahaha

[@ghosterino]

If I could make calls with this, it would be perfect. Can the camera read QR codes?

[@ۥۥ0ۥۥ]

21 minutes on my phone. We don't talk about my computer screentime.

[@dumbozach]

Same lol. Just don’t look at my GTA hours

[@AdyanHossain_]

if my screen time is low that just means i was gaming the whole day 😭

[@hakaishin101]

Same

[@Muhammed.Yaseen]

OMG ME TOO! haha

[@Alex-kr7zr]

​@@dumbozach I'm playing GTA while on the power trainer. Perfect for recovery and foundation rides. Lately I burned >1000kcal while playing GTA, lol. Definitely makes 16h training weeks a bit easier.

[@yusufvangieson6157]

"we use them to much because they put worms in our brains" honestly spot on

[@Gdsamplify]

RFK Jr Reference

[@BenjaminLupton]

"words* in our brain"

[@Murk.mp4]

@@BenjaminLuptonno, listen to it again, he said worms

[@chloelamplugh]

Ellis' "What?!" to Maria not using a Calendar needs to be a waveform soundbite. Hilarious.

[@hickyxnicky411]

yes hahaha

[@ggproductions7078]

and to be fair, I don't use a calender app either.

[@reasons4171]

@@ggproductions7078 whaaat?! I won't survive a week without one

[@summerslider2487]

I don’t use it either. Most people I know don’t.

[@marsaaas]

well... somehow calendar by using time is on he 2nd place for me...

[@JDeLauer]

Screen time of 9 and a half hours… oops

[@Im_helpless]

Do you like not have a job or something, how do you get 9h screen time

[@TwitterBirdPlus]

Screentime of over 11 hours. (Not trying to flex but...)

[@dannymartial7997]

If you don’t have a computer or tablet, this would make sense. My laptop hours is pretty much my entire awake day

[@arraja97]

13+ hours for me

[@ryumitaka3979]

4 1/2 hours for me

[@JoseBriones]

This video underscores why this is not a device problem, but a lifestyle one. If you change your lifestyle, any of the devices shown can be integrated seamlessly into a digital minimalism journey. They live and enjoy their tech driven lifestyle so that's why it's hard to see the benefits of less tech in their lives. Cool video though!

[@WesseI]

Totally agree, if you are bothered by using an app too much. Why not just uninstall it? About two years ago I uninstalled Instagram because I noticed it became an habit and I was using it way too much. I missed it for about a month, maybe two, but now I can go easily without it.

[@sol_in.victus]

Right? One of them said 'I wouldn't watch tiktok on this thing' as if that wasn't the whole point lol!

[@noticiasinmundicias]

that's like saying cocaine is not the problem, it's the user lol

[@JamesR624]

@@noticiasinmundicias Yep. People who say "just use the features to reduce distractions!" Like, you guys DO realize these devices are DESIGNED to be addictive to make Google and Apple and devs money right? The whole point of those features is to give the ILLUSION that they give a crap about health to sell more of their addicting devices.

[@noticiasinmundicias]

@@JamesR624 Absolutely. It's like saying nah, smoke only once a day lol

[@tharius9758]

None of these are what I think of when I hear “dumbphone”. A dumbphone is an old school flip phone that only calls and texts with the numpad.

[@ekaramdani6390]

I know right? like.... where are those updated flip phones that is running KaiOS

[@Joacimbylehn]

Exactly, Nokia 3310 is a dumb phone

[@shivanshsaini5275]

I believe thats a feature phone, atleast here in India

[@JasperWillems-k8w]

that's true, but this is a nice way to get some of the benefits without having to buy anything or get rid of a smartphone that works perfectly well

[@rigidchalice1252]

New term: dumbified smart phone (sounds more... correct)

[@sammieseoul5544]

I really dig the MKBHD family.

[@seth8858]

Me too. This video was somehow adorable, great vibes from the team.

[@smohan123]

GREAT producing and editing and the reviewers are all quite funny

[@kaiso7]

Me too!

[@fiskfisk33]

I really dislike calling company staff "family".

[@vnz88]

Ok seriously, this is a great video. Most of us want to limit our screen time but you have shown a really easy way: just set your screen to greyscale (forget the silly subscription widget) - it’s like a permanent visual reminder to get off your phone, and makes your phone less satisfying to use. I’ve just set up shortcuts to automatically enable this during my working day. Thank you Studio crew!

[@HaswellCore]

its even easier on iphone, you can activate it via backtap for instance

[@vnz88]

@@HaswellCore Great suggestion, didn’t think of triggering it with the back tap - thanks!

[@Marsk1tty]

The only thing that stopped me from doing this is that I like using the night mode that shifts everything to a warmer color, especially in the late evening. On my eink tablet, I only use the warm light when a front light is required.

[@captainmakai]

When I switch back to full colour my phone seems really bright and overloading

[@doccdisrepecc7307]

Samsung after enabling it in settings, I can just hold volume up and down for 3 seconds to enable greyscale. For maximum effect, screen resolution down to 720p and brightness to near absolute minimum.

[@TheStudio]

Pinning the lowest average screentime.... or the highest... surprise us.

[@levzowk]

12h 53m

[@DanielTolentino42]

8h42 on Saturday. Typically 4-5 a weekday

[@CulturalGhost]

14h 47m as a 22 Year Old; 8 hours on messaging apps. 2 on YT The 4 on various co-op games long distance relationships be hitting

[@jorschachblatant1934]

23 hours?

[@NormansWorldMovies]

5

[@DannyMexen9]

Phone - calls and texts Tablet - videos and notes Laptop - work Ereader- reading Daily usage for me. There’s a two hour break in there somewhere for meditation or reading a paperback or exercise.

[@CarswithMiles]

Ellis the typa dude to use a Boox Palma just so he can say "*_Booox Pallmaaa_*"

[@SilentStotm]

4:02 "You're paying $24 dollars for a widget" seriously like it's like paying $50 a year for a wallpaper app. Who would do that ?

[@leah__pearl]

Mariah's 7 hours is so real

[@Tomato700]

She had 3 hours on google maps lol

[@marcellkovacs5452]

@@Tomato700does driving with Google Maps open count?

[@emilflarsen2]

@@marcellkovacs5452 Yeah that's why i don't measure my screen time. As far as i know it does count.

[@internetshaquille]

NICE FEED MARIAH

[@whereswilliam488]

What is this, a cross over episode?

[@areks4397]

I swear I was about to see how I could get you to see this, turns out I'm 5 days late!

[@desertedham37]

THE COMMENTER

[@cmfrtblynmb02]

ahahah amazing

[@hastyscorpion]

4:08 I think you underestimate the monkey part of your brain. There absolutely is a "oo shiney" part of your brain that is attracted to all the bright pretty colors.

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

That's the worm though, the low level, basic instant reward hotwiring your motivation to feed an addiction to ad supported services. Phones aren't "too fun" because, for the most part, they aren't particularly fun, at least not compared to other things pretty much everyone could be doing instead, but we still wind up using our phones more than anything else anyway.

[@solkvist8668]

I think addicting would be more accurate. They aren’t necessarily fun, but they feed the little gremlin in our brain so we keep using them. People have dealt with the addictive side of computers and tech for decades at this point, with vastly different technology between them. While the shiny phone might be a small part of it, I think most of it has to do algorithms optimizing engagement. It’s what eats up most of my free time, and I hate it, but I have an addictive personality so it’s quite a bit tougher to kick

[@mxmus08]

Maria NOT using a calendar is wild.

[@LuckyLego]

I don’t use it either, I use reminders some times to not forget something but otherwise I have no need for it. Everything is already in different places

[@cmmartti]

I would use a calendar if I could auto-import my work schedule. But I can't, and that's about the only thing it would be useful for. (The web portal is so bad I resort to taking a photo of the posted paper schedule.) I do have a recurring reminder to pay my rent, and I'll put in the very rare doctor's appointment, but nothing else in my life is scheduled that precisely. If something needs to be done I'll jot it down on the whiteboard by my front door and get to it when I feel like it.

[@mxmus08]

@@cmmartti interesting. I use my calendar for appointments, booked holidays, ex div dates for stocks etc. Reminders are for daily tasks. Nice to learn from others. Thanks for sharing.

[@worthless_opinion]

Not really.

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

​@@mxmus08Another data point - I'm too disorganised to consistently pay attention to a calendar and track appointments on it, but I don't have many obligations so most of the time between reminders from services and overthinking/rumination keeping most important stuff at the front of my mind I seem to keep up. That and putting bills in obvious places. Not the best or healthiest way but I suspect that might be similar to Maria's situation (I can also relate to the background KZbin addiction leading to large screen times lol)

[@W4ZEL]

The Boox Palma not being a phone is actually so frustrating. It's exactly the kind of device I want to replace my current smartphone, but if I can't put my sim card in it then it's basically useless. Someone please just make a phone like this already, it's insane to me that such a device still doesn't exist.

[@dkd123]

I think Maria was onto something with the perfect dumb phone idea. This would be mine: -Flip phone with physical buttons (maybe the option of full qwerty for most productivity or just num pad so I can go back to T9 texting) -Z-flip front display size but really good e-ink like the Boox, touchscreen for app compatibility -Cellular and GPS -Full android app support so I can use Google Maps, Spotify, Strava, and occasionally a web browser (QR menu is a good reason why) -Decent-ish camera -Crappy enough internals so playing games or social media is bad but not too crappy so texting and calling works good and the phone is overall responsive

[@louiskrumme7639]

You should look into the CAT S22 FLIP. It has a T9 Keyboard, but there's an App thats called "Traditional T9". With that you have to only press buttons once per letter.

[@litjellyfish]

Physical buttons? Who I why haha I mean that would eat up so much space. T9 ? Sure but I mean that you have already on iPhone or Android if you get such keyboard. Sounds like you are a T9 person so I hope you are using it on your iPhone or Android phone then

[@charlessaints]

physical buttons tend to start failing after some time (double pressing and such) i been using the nokia 6300 4g, which has all that except a music streaming service, but you can download music on an sd card and play it like that. has facebook, whatsapp, youtube, web browser, and email apps. but the typing is a headache. sometimes the keys don't respond or they over respond. other than that . . . it is awesome. this message took me almost 6 minutes to type correctly. 😅

[@litjellyfish]

@@charlessaints how is the maps?

[@nathanruggles]

Not a bad list, but: T9 w/o keyboard would be too annoying to me, except maybe if voice to text was better Can't have gaming or social media (plus KZbin) because that is exactly the stuff that draws you to your phone and away from the world around you

[@b.emmitjones6161]

watching zoomers who know they have an addiction to their phone, and know the apps are the problem, bitching that the light phone didn't have youtube is so hillarious.

[@salmiakki5638]

*The best* dumbphone Is actually a smartwatch with LTE (I use a galaxy watch 6) You can do everything you need (calls, WhatsApp, messages, payments, music, podcasts, get directions etc) and nothing you don't (yt, IG, tik tok etc) but doing everything takes a bit more time, so you really filter what you actually want to do. Only real downside si battery life and lack of camera. The first is easily overcome by having the charging puck in a bag with you. Since the battery is small, it'll charge fast on any random usb port from any pc Othe Plusses are: you probably already have one and you carry it around. It on your wrists. Not having a phone in a pocket feel amazing

[@ty-and-britt]

Can you get LTE service without it being an add-on for a cell phone. Most times I hear of it being like a $10 add-on.

[@nathanruggles]

So have you actually tried this? Does it actually work in practice? Because I was looking into it this was possible. (Though personally since I've always used Android I'd prefer a WearOS device) Do you use speech to text then mostly?

[@salmiakki5638]

@@ty-and-britt I'm from Italy, over here I pay 2€ plus my usual plan to have it shared between my SIM and an eSIM for the watch. In the US. I know google Fi doesn't charge anything for the service

[@salmiakki5638]

@@nathanruggles yeah I do, it works beautifully. I use both speech to text and swipe typing( i think with Gboard, but It could be with the Samsung keyboard, can't recall). Both are really good, especially considering the size. (Note that the galaxy watches that I use are WearOS smartwatches)

[@salmiakki5638]

@@KeeperRL_official_channel i didn't really consiered earbuds as an issue as i always had a pair with me anyway, but that's true and something to note: it's hard to be able to do without them

[@xylotism]

I respect Mariah's raw honesty about being a phone FIEND that will not cooperate with ANY limitation that isn't IRONCLAD.

[@rafrodriguez548]

Please do a part 2 of this! So many dumbphones out there its crazy! Ive been using the sunbeam f1 pro (flip phone dumb phone) for almost a year now and it has been amazing to use - has full touchscreen, phenomenal talk to text, weather, navigation (both native and waze), and a hotspot as well so i can connect my laptop which i usually have with me. Lots of great options out there these days.

[@p0larz0mbies]

"I felt like Michael Fisher all weekend" lmao

[@carylittleford8980]

My Hisense A5Pro eink phone was my favourite phone of all time. Standing in the Aussie outback under the blazing sun the A5 looked just gorgeous where most phones were barely readable. When getting messages one heads to bright outdoors instead of normal screens where one heads to the darker areas. I've never had a phone that had so many comments on how beautiful the screen was and it's mat coating.

[@Returntotheworld]

Why “was”? Pity this isn’t more widely available.

[@carylittleford8980]

@@Returntotheworld I dropped a log on it while preparing firewood. :-/ I'll look at a eInk phone again next time I upgrade for sure.

[@nathanruggles]

I didn't think the Hisense eink phones work in the US

[@EReaderChannel]

I guess the cellular version Palma is in the making. Meanwhile, Bigme just released two cellular eink phones (one monochromatic, one color eink). Also, Hisense has been making cellular eink phone for years, although mostly sold in China.

[@nathanruggles]

The problem is I don't believe the Hisense works on US carriers. Hopefully Boox will come through for us! (Though I personally would like something a little smaller)

[@heineor]

@@nathanruggles you might be interested in Mudita Kompakt.

[@NonAutomotive]

If a restaurant's menu is on a QR code, I'm leaving.

[@carlosmiguelgarrido]

"were they right?.... no🤣" is hilarious 🤣🤣🤣

[@pcdkrop]

I use, for over 6 months now, my Light phone 2 for calling and as a hotspot for my Boox Palma. I love the minimalistic way I live my life now. For writing, reading and planning I use my Remarkable 2. The combination of these three devices is perfect for me as my daily drivers.

[@maylin1986]

I appreciate your excitement for this lifestyle combo on the select few tech gadgets you use to have a life/tech balance. I'm going to try to look into all 3 of the aformentioned devices and see what they are. I just learned about them today. 🫠

[@abletothink]

Screen time average 14 hours 33 minutes. Dear God I need help.

[@ihaveagoddamnplanarthur]

Yeah you definitely do

[@squidge903]

You do. But so do I, and lots of people. You're not alone in that - in fact that's why most people are looking at a video like this: because we feel you on that. Welcome to the club - you've just made a good first step.

[@akshaygurnal2087]

You need to read COMPOUND EFFECT BY DARREN HARDY.... hope this helps

[@ako_0256]

Mine is 13+ hrs. Let's start lowering it today

That's a junkie level of addiction there. Stop it as soon as possible. I mean it.

[@dinosoup]

Boox Palma with sim card is something i never knew i wanted, let alone existed until this video

[@maylin1986]

What are the upsides or positives for this combination? I've just stumbled across all this, literally, today. 😐🫠 I came to this video, from a Light III phone. Any help is appreciated! ✌️✨️

[@MiserableLemon]

All of Mariah's takeaways are hilarious! She's not wrong, if you CAN install smartphone apps, you will at somepoint.

[@adeniyiseriki461]

You just have to love these Studio Guys. Always nice to have Mariah on the studio channel! Go girl. Best Studio crew on KZbin

[@Kaze919]

The blank “iPhone dumber” actually worked amazing for me. The first day was just pickup after pickup after pickup of just being like “ohh no I don’t need to do anything important I just want to doom scroll” and then I’d put it down

[@IznbranahlGoose]

Nokia had apparently brought back and updated some of their older 'dumb' flip phones. Nothing but a phone, some built in apps and games (including 'Snake') and a simple camera. -- Those should have been included here because it's pretty much what's been described in that 'Creating the Perfect Dumbphone" section.

[@zants_]

1:43 Internet Shaquille shout-out -- the GOAT!

[@aaronwilson4258]

Screen time of 7 minutes per day for the past week. It's CWL; gotta get those wins.

[@dhavalpatel4740]

I can understand.

[@tyler94flynn]

Catholic women's League?

[@dhavalpatel4740]

Nah, it’s clan war league (Clash of clan)

[@vanngir3180]

​@@dhavalpatel4740bruh I used phone to play clash and on average I used 1hr screentime alone. 5hrs on the of date lol

[@asadfarraj]

8 MICE BLENDER, ONE SLICE CHEESE! ✊🏻✊🏻​@@dhavalpatel4740

[@evebabitzghost]

I love my Boox Palma and I am absolutely dying for a sim version.

[@rejectconvenience]

Been on a dumb phone and iPod combo for over 2 years now, I can't imagine ever going back now.

[@danielvidalesyt]

Is it worth it?

[@rejectconvenience]

@@danielvidalesyt 100%, I made a video about my thought process. My battery lasts 15-20 days on a single charge, I'm happier, and by paying for music directly from the artists, I am paying them better than Spotify ever would :)

[@AlexCuevas91]

@rejectconvenience which dumb phone?

[@rejectconvenience]

@@AlexCuevas91 The TCL Classic, I paid about $40 for the phone on sale, I think it's normally $70. The plan costs $6/month on Tello (no data required!)

[@rejectconvenience]

@@AlexCuevas91 TCL Classic

[@justharrish9220]

"you're paying 24 dollars for widgets?" umm no, but im paying 50 dollars for wallpapers?

[@smplysayng]

Also, fire job on the e-ink style studio intro.

[@TheStudio]

We actually filmed The Studio intro with inverted colors on a Boox Palma for that intro. Real e-ink!

[@alparius2]

@@TheStudio genius, love it!

[@d4n93r]

0:11 wasnt that dude from LTT?

[@rodexproduction8369]

Yes

[@Jungkith]

“Daily Average 10h 48m • 21% from last week “ wtf i don’t think im on my phone that much tho😭

[@Jungkith]

Ohh they counted me listening to youtube music wc is a lot of listening lol

[@thecheesegod7]

I am so glad that Ellis and Mariah are together again! They truly are the best comedy duo!

[@Alex_564]

The Minimal phone with it's eInk display & hardware keyboard is interesting & worth checking out.

[@noah_the_nerd]

Found out about that through this comment! I hope they make it to production, because that design is perfect.

[@charliebat]

this is the phone i want if i do the jump

[@squrler]

Awaiting this one for sure… got some bad rep on Reddit as a lot of people are warning the founder has a history of scamming. The hardware does look great though. Wouldn’t put money into the indiegogo but will definitely check out a review if and when it comes out.

[@lilkasper378]

it sounds like a lot of the major issues stem from society being so invested in technology. Even if you are able to get away from your phone. Technology is now an necessity in some situations. The QR code menus is a good example of that.

[@ropro9817]

Lol, surprisingly, I've found that when my S24 switches to sleep mode and my screen turns black and white, I have very little incentive to use apps on my phone. Scrolling for recipes, Instgram, KZbin, etc. becomes extremely boring when not in color.

[@Returntotheworld]

Probably has an option to make it black and white in settings. iPhone does. I’ve a quick toggle set so it can be changed back to color as needed

[@trailchaser2]

There is a full e-ink phone, looks good by the reviews online, it's the Hisense A9

[@imKeshav]

06:15 - I see whatchu did there with that J-cut, lmao!

[@skyblockreborn1379]

today I learned what a J-cut is

[@AlfaOxTrot.]

​@@skyblockreborn1379jump cut right?

[@cam-joh]

@@AlfaOxTrot. nope, a J-cut is when audio from the next clip starts playing before the video switches. It's called a J-cut because on the timeline, the clips look vaguely like a J, as opposed to an L-cut, which is the opposite.

[@donkey7921]

but why? I thought it was an error or mistake...

[@valhakun]

Put the 2016 iPhone SE on that table and watch everyone glow with joy as they put it in their hands.

[@drainboy]

been daily driving the hisense A9 for about a year now (swapped for a bit between other dumb phones) and i really love the long battery life!! i initially thought yall tried it out looking at the thumbnail but i can say it's definitely the cellular version of the boox palma

[@Wellington-je9nx]

been using that one for a few months as well

[@bgkeezer]

@@Wellington-je9nx What cellphone carried do you have it on?

[@Wellington-je9nx]

@bgkeezer what you mean? i think phone carriers work differently in Brazil

[@tomzahradka]

That's maybe the future. Size of the rabbit r1, functions of a regular phone, camera that at least read QR code or take small square shots with specific filter/quality, make a phone call, connect headphones via bluetooth. I can imagine having something square in my pocket or have it on a string like a necklace. thanks for reviewing those things.

[@mykeljewell]

7:35 love that the Lite phone III basically addresses all of these needs good job y’all

[@dylanhoward718]

500 dollars. Nope

[@Murk.mp4]

I’m glad the interview was divided by people who actually are the target market vs those who aren’t

[@Tomato700]

So this is why you guys were talking about dumbphones on the pod 😂

[@sitruc7th]

I switched from Android to iPhone SE to control my screen time. I turned on screentime in settings, created a screentime passcode I could not remember and put it in my password manager, then disabled the web browser and youtube. It's effective, and I still have all the useful things like hotspot, camera, maps, payments, MFA etc. And because my screentime is low, I frequently go 3-4 days without recharging.

[@inksoldier5544]

So why not get a regular $20 dumb phone. Makes me think the producer of that one e-ink 'dumb smartphone' is exploiting the need to hold something that looks and feels vaguely like a smartphone but is in no way a substitute because while using it as per design you never forget the smartphone and what you're missing with it

[@anachronismic]

There are things about moving around in the world that make living with a proper dumb phone pretty difficult (eg qr code menus, maps navigation). Work aroundable, but at least in the nyc metro area where they're based (and where I'm based) it's a pretty big ask.

[@ydorni5923]

Maria and Ellis are the best duo, I just enjoy their content

[@JCJW101]

If you have a Samsung set the power mode to "maximum saving" and it limits you to around 8 essential apps (phone, messaging, camera, clock etc) so it's a pretty good way of reducing usage, bonus points that your phone lasts 3-4 days now.

[@crimsonstrykr]

Asking guys whose work is on a computer their screen time on the phone is asking a fish how much water it holds in it's mouth.

[@nesusiprates]

Where is Punkt phone?

[@rollingtroll]

I love Mariah's whole "It's amazing what you can get away with if you don't give a damn" approach to things :D. Virtually none of these are actually dumbphones, but that was an interesting video!

[@carlstanford7607]

People in the video didn’t seem to understand the point of the video

[@robsawalker]

How about forcing someone to live with only a cellular Apple Watch for a week? That would be interesting. AirPod Pros allowed, natch.

[@vette1]

the z flip is simply a better r1 rabbit

[@Gatitasecsii]

I truly cannot relate to being so utterly helpless about something that is barely a problem.

[@Gregory1713S]

16h 55minutes 😮. I’m crazy 😂

[@fmsolee]

Mine is 15h 50mjn. But I sleep with my screen on.

[@Leanzazzy]

What is wrong with both of you? How is that even possible? Do you not work? Or even sleep? Or eat? Or what? How does your phone last that long? Are you using it as a billboard or what?

[@user-ii7xc1ry3x]

@@Leanzazzy so many questions. We need answerz!

[@Gregory1713S]

@@Leanzazzy it may be because i left the always on display on my iPhone 14 pro! I love my wallpaper lol

[@Leanzazzy]

@@Gregory1713S The always on display does not get counted

[@prz98]

3:51 why buy app that is only a widget when iPhone has build in „simple” mode called „Assistive Access”. I was expecting you guys to mention it in that section.

[@nathanhollow0]

what a frustrating video. "where's my google maps? where's my youtube? I can't watch tiktok on this! why is the refresh rate so crap? the storage is so small!" brothers, that's the point! if it's a flashy cellular phone with maps and instagram and color it's not a dumb phone!

[@cameronchappell8265]

A kitchen safe is my go-to. Literally lock my phone away. Works like a charm

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

The main issue with e-ink displays is they're extremely susceptible to burn in, but not in the way you expect. Some of the particles from the color can become permanently charged and never leave the screen.

[@CouldBeMathijs]

Really? I've probably used my PocketBook e-reader for 4 years at least 20 minutes a day, sometimes 5 hours, and not a single pixel is burned in. When have you experienced this?

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

@@CouldBeMathijs There's no such thing as "pixel burn in" in e-ink displays because they don't have pixels. The way images are generated on those is small black pellets get electrically charged and that causes them to rise and stick to the top layer of the panel. Then you have additional trickery with changing particle sizes and how they're charged in order to have one color but not the other. This is the reason why you don't have full color e-ink displays. At most you'll have 3 color ones.

[@CouldBeMathijs]

@@BrunodeSouzaLino Sure, but still, not one of the ink-cells is stuck in any position after multiple years of use, nor is any part of the screen discoloured.

[@mrchops]

wide variety of dumbphones, quick preview, pros and cons. This what i needed

[@SauravKhare]

First world problems.

[@mrwebworld]

Use your regular phone in Black and White. That's all it takes to reduce the screen time. Also, you can consider KaiOS devices as well for this category.

[@Leah-tu1oo]

Had the thought after the video. Activated the accessibility feature and will definitely test it out during times I don't want additional distraction.

[@digriw]

If you want to restrict yourself, just delete all the social media apps, it’s kinda stupid to buy an objectively worse device instead

[@ralph90009]

Good idea in theory, but I've had several devices that came with social media installed out of the box that couldn't be removed.

[@minusmartin]

the worm in my brain says need more Studio videos NOW.

[@Lun4rVisi8n]

Yessss!! Been waiting for y’all to talk about these! I used The Light Phone successfully for about a month before I decided to switch back. I enjoyed it & still wanna use it sometimes but I was invited to a party where the address wouldn’t appear even in Apple or Google Maps so my friends not being able to just send their location was not only slightly embarrassing but could pose a safety risk if you were really lost & didn’t have your main phone. The directions tool worked great in every other scenario tho. The Light Phone team & community had also been very helpful & responsive with any questions as a newcomer, set up, or really any question in general, but as soon as I mentioned this issue & just offered a suggestion or request to allow location sharing, it’s been radio silence ever since…I was looking into Boox Palma once I was situated with Light but maybe I’ll still give it a shot. Great vid! ❤

[@nathanhollow0]

"we looked at a few dumbphones for a couple minutes so you wont have to"

[@remcoland]

For me, using my Galaxy watch with LTE works great. Only thing I miss is having a camera on me. Might just bring an actual camera just for that

[@nathanruggles]

Have you used the watch only as your "daily driver"? If so was there anything that you found that you could not do that you really needed to?

[@channelDD25]

You guys should have used a Unihertz JellyStar

[@ddubs61]

I love this format of video. Really like the cast doing this.

[@kolt9051]

11:10 had two phones at all times "I felt like Michael Fisher all weekend." LOL

[@Not_Lewis]

This was not the video I was expecting. This was not a switch to a "dumb" phone. This was an 11 minute product advert

[@TheZman6]

Best studio crew in the biz, always appreciate the content. Also, glad to hear Air Message still kicking it amidst all the recent Beeper & Sunbird fiascos.

[@pixelgaming7261]

7:35 You can't higher the refresh rate of e-ink. If you want a high refresh rate, the closest you might get is a matte, monochrome OLED panel.

[@Objectivish]

I daily-drove the hisense A9 for about a year and loved virtually every feature about it. E-ink, decent camera, access to my email and calendar, an actual 3.5mm jack. I ended up switching to the Samsung Z5 for one big reason though. Hisense never released the A9 for the global market, meaning no Google support. No maps, gmail, play store, or even google powered apps. I strongly think that if they released the same thing with a slightly faster processor and access to Google, I would use that phone for 5+ years. I did really enjoy having a wifi only smart phone to use for social media and such at home and a simple e-ink device to do everything else.

[@caioluders]

you could have rooted it to install google play with no problems

[@Objectivish]

@@caioluders Nope. It may be different now, but nobody was successfully able to figure out how to root the A9. There was even a reward of something like $2k for the first person to do so. After a year and a half I just switched back to Google.

[@caioluders]

@@Objectivish oh that’s sad

[@mattmorse60]

Wow awesome!!! Thanks for this video! Ellis I will buy five Boox Palma’s now, I am amped about this setup.

[@Ave_z]

tbh there should have been a section of accessibility mode on iphone.

[@joshyoerger5271]

6:45 “so I am driving from Brooklyn all the way uptown to New York City and it just completely failed.” Bro, driving a personal vehicle in NYC is the real fail here. Lol.

[@giovani5586]

I found that leaving my phone in grey scale helped me to use it much less, and to avoid it being annoying I created some routines (samsung, but I think other brands have it too) that turned the color back once I opened my gallery, maps and camera.

[@focusfernand0]

I really hate when people chalk everything up to "self-restraint". Obviously, improving one's self-restraint could drastically reduce the amount of daily phone usage. However, that does not address the heart of the issue. Phones are ADDICTING. Imagine being an alcoholic that has to carry around a bottle of whiskey everywhere you go because that bottle of whiskey is necessary for gps, paying bills, answering important emails and messages, building a brand or networking, etc. Phones are an essential part of modern life, and yet they're extremely addicting to some people. They're both our lifelines and a poison to our very existence. We're hooked on a drug that is required for practically anyone living in a first-world country. Self-restraint is important, but it's not THE solution, it's just a part of it, and for those who are already addicted, it's meaningless. You're not going to ask an alcoholic to JUST have more self-restraint. It's deeper than that.

[@SHAKA-NEU-LU]

I remember when I had the palm pre from sprint. It was a dinosaur amongst all other phones, but I see all these other OS’s adopted the card style apps

[@russianbear0027]

6:13 QR codes for menus etc usually have physical equivalents. My spouse doesnt have a QR reader and its been fine in every case except when people put a qr code on a flyer for an event without the equivalent url underneath

[@Twistdflinx]

I own a Boox Palma. Absolutely love it. If I leave the house... Well, my phone comes with me. Although so does my Palma. But at home, it's more than good enough. It's my websurfing book that doesn't hurt my eyes at all.

[@Fullkornen]

Smartphones offer a huge amount of convenience in our daily lives. Getting rid of social media apps is one way of keeping said convenience.

[@mxvortex2341]

I tried Blank, but the problem is, you still have the App Library when you swipe right, so I literally just don’t even use the widgets any more.

[@YoutubePizzer]

3:52 I think they’re using the default Unity TextMeshPro font too which would imply they built the app with Unity

[@Reesesissy]

Wait, what template did you use on Goodnotes, been trying to find a good one for a while lol

[@sameerchakma]

There is a thing called "focused mode". With which you can limit which apps you can use at what time. Also in parental controls you can set screen time limits for each specific app.