Light has just released the minimalist handsets. Light Phone IIIThis is the ideal device for those who have grown tired of modern smartphones with their easy access doomscrolling, and their abundance of wonky AI features.
The Light Phone III has a sleek, black-and-white OLED screen. This is a new design feature. Previous models featured e-paper displays. The main attraction of this phone is not its features, but what it lacks. There are no third party apps. Social media, internet, or email are not available. It’s designed to be a phone first and foremost. It’s not entirely bare. This model has an embedded NFC chip to make payments, as well as a music player with a podcast, a messaging application, a flashlight and voice notes. It also includes a calendar, timer, alarm, calendar, and a message app. It also has a simple camera system, which was inspired by point and shoot models. The two-step button has a fixed focal distance and a center focus. The company calls it a “genuinely fun” feature.
Light Phone III comes with a navigation app that is probably the most useful feature of modern smartphones. But there’s a twist. Here (the mapping platform that powers the app) cannot see where you go, or what you search for, because the company paid for private access.
The other specs include 6GB RAM, up from the 1GB in Light Phone II, as well as 128GB of storage and a Qualcomm chip that is newer. It has a fingerprint sensor on the power button. There is also a USB-C connector and some loudspeakers in the bottom. It is also possible to replace the battery yourself, which is an added bonus. It’s bigger than previous generations, and I think it’s cute. It’s about the same width as a modern iPhone but much shorter. The company claims that this was done on purpose to make it easier for users to text when holding the device vertically.
This is not all good news. The Light Phone III is $799, which is a fraction of the price of the second generation model (even though it’s a much more capable device). You can still order the $599 pre-order price for now. We’ll see how long it lasts.
This article has been updated with the information that Light Phone’s navigation app uses Here and not Google to map. It has also been updated to note that $599 is still available as a pre-order.
