Minimalist phones are gaining steam, with the latest entrant on the scene being the Minimal Phone MP01. While I love the idea of using such devices to curb smartphone addiction, I’m not ready to make the switch just yet.
4
Limited Functionality
My first gripe with minimalist phones is their limited functionality, which, unfortunately, is also their main selling point. These phones often strip away core functionality like navigation and good cameras to drive home their minimalism philosophy. While it makes sense to want to trade away some features, they often go overboard, making the devices downright unattractive for everyday use.
Take the Light Phone III as an example. Its key selling point is the small monochrome screen, and it only gives you a handful of utility apps: notes, alarm, phone, calculator, calendar, timer, album, camera, directions, music, and a few more. You’re limited to those apps because it doesn’t have access to any app store. The Mudita Kompakt follows a similar approach, offering only a handful of apps.
The Minimal Phone tries to address this by giving access to the Google Play Store. However, it fails in other areas (more on that later).
I’ll keep my regular smartphone until minimalist phones can strike a perfect balance between simplicity and utility. Right now, I’d rather turn my Android device into a dumbphone than buy a minimalist phone.
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3
Poor Hardware and User Experience
Another big turnoff about minimalist phones is the hardware and user experience. The hardware of minimalist phones tends to be subpar, making me wonder whether these phones misunderstand simplicity. Yes, I want a simple phone, but that doesn’t mean it can only use outdated or inferior hardware.
The Light Phone III, for example, ships with a tiny 3.92-inch matte OLED screen. The Minimalist Phone and the Mudita Kompakt have slightly larger 4.3-inch panels. But they use an e-paper display, which isn’t ideal for a smartphone.
Another downside is the camera. The Minimal Phone has a single 16MP rear camera, which WIRED described as “abysmal.” The Light Phone III’s camera also doesn’t match modern standards, and the story is the same across the board. Even worse, the Light Phone III’s fingerprint sensor doesn’t work yet. We have also seen complaints about the Minimal Phone suffering from constant screen ghosting, not to mention it was designed to use a cheap plastic chassis.
In addition, the physical design of most minimalist phones feels like an afterthought. Considering how such devices are marketed as minimalist alternatives, I expect a certain baseline level of performance and usability without the distracting aspects of modern smartphones.
2
Bad Cost-to-Value Ratio
Speaking of price, the Light Phone III is the most expensive option I’ve seen, going for a whopping $600. The Mudita Kompakt and Bigme HiBreak Pro will each set you back by $439, and the Minimal Phone comes in at $400.
These devices aren’t cheap, especially when you consider the value proposition. Anything over $400 falls into mid-range smartphone territory, where you’d typically get far more in terms of performance, build quality, and features. But that’s not the case here.
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For context, let’s take the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro as an example. It costs about $280 and packs a lot more, including a 120Hz AMOLED panel, a solid Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Pro chip, a triple rear camera setup, and more. The Google Pixel 9A is also a solid mid-range phone at $499, while the Samsung Galaxy A36 punches above its weight and costs $399.
When you compare minimalist phones to similarly priced mainstream smartphones, they offer poor value for money. While the minimalist philosophy is appealing, it’s hard to justify paying a premium for what feels like a downgrade. Considering their features and price, it feels like companies are selling a lifestyle, not smartphones.
1
Incompatibility With Daily Life
As idealistic as minimalist phones sound, they often clash with the demands of modern life. Most current minimalist phones take the concept too far, removing even essential apps like banking, authenticators, password managers, ridesharing, and messaging.
I don’t know about you, but I use these and other essential apps purposefully, and I need them in my daily life. I also need a capable camera that can take decent photos when I hit the road, which is missing on these devices.
Such compromises mean that even if I splurged on a minimalist phone, I’d need a second, more capable device to get through the day, which defeats the entire purpose.
I genuinely appreciate the idea behind minimalist phones. However, at this moment, these phones have significant compromises that make them unattractive to my daily life. They cut corners on hardware while charging a premium, have limited functionality, and are impractical for my daily smartphone use. In their current state, I prefer to sit on the fence until these issues are addressed.
