Waiting For The Perfect Dumbphone Won't Save You From Smartphone Addiction

"If it only had Transit app, it would be perfect," I said. I hadn't thought much of the response in Discord but then it dawned on me, I waited forever to finally have RCS on iPhone. I need that too.

I had watched hours upon hours of dumphone reviews on YouTube. I had also sifted through practically every Reddit thread. I was 100% sold on the Light Phone 3. I even shared why here. So now we wait. Due to trade wars and demand, phones are now shipping in August as of this writing. Not to mention the phone could leap to it's full retail price any second now I'll continue averaging 3.5 hours of screen time a day and doomscrolling until then, right? Of course not, I'll simply take short social media breaks but continue to forgo actual phone calls with my friends. It'll finally work this time.

I've never seen anyone cruise in a Lamborghini, it wasn’t designed for that. Despite its sleek exterior, it’s still a tool to get you from one place to another. Not a tool designed for hauling mulch from Lowe’s or road-tripping to the beach, but for getting somewhere fast, in style. No one debates that. So why do we fool ourselves into thinking a smartphone becomes a less connected tool just by deleting the apps? These devices were built to keep us connected. Stripping away connectivity doesn’t turn it into a dumbphone, any more than ripping the seats out of a Lamborghini Urus turns it into a camper. At that point, it's just an expensive brick—with a mandatory data plan.

Some days, I seriously consider ditching my smartphone for a $50 dumbphone and picking up a Boox Palma 2 for reading on the bus or pulling up directions before I leave the house. Then reality kicks in: carrying two devices as a minimalist? It feels off.

My everyday carry is already pretty streamlined: an iPod Classic, a camera, my phone, wallet, and yeah, a notepad and pen. I mean, I am a writer, after all.

I’ve written before about the Light Phone 3 being the perfect device. Its mix of aesthetics and practicality have convinced me to walk away from my iPhone 13 mini. But every day, I feel myself drifting from big ideas and actual progress as I await to have a device in my hands one day. It took me two hours to enclose my lean-to shed into a YouTube studio. That’s time I could have taken back from my smartphone's watch-time bank. What could I do with an extra three and a half hours a day?

It reminds me of commuting from Weehawken, New Jersey to Port Authority through the Lincoln Tunnel. I did that Monday through Friday for nearly two years. The tunnel itself is only three minutes long, but it usually took around an hour and a half. If we made it through in ten minutes, it felt like a miracle. Then I’d still have to catch a train home to Brooklyn, which took another 40 minutes if transfers lined up perfectly.

When I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and suddenly got home from work in ten minute via rideshare, I didn’t know what to do with all that time. Back then, I wasn’t married and didn’t have kids. Now? I know exactly what I’d do with it. Ulimately, this got me wondering if I expedited this transition sooner, what would my relationships look like? What new hobbies could I pick up? What new skills could I have mastered by the time the perfect dumbphone arrives?

I’m such an intentional shopper that it’s incredibly hard for me to buy anything that won’t serve a long-term purpose or stay with me for life. Lately, I’ve started thinking more holistically about this. Instead of waiting for the perfect storm of financial readiness and availability, I’ve been finding ways to rehome, gift, or sustainably let go of things I need sooner rather than later.

I don’t have it all figured out. Some days I crave the simplicity of a dumbphone and a quiet morning without pings or push notifications. Other days, I’m deep in a project, grateful for the tools at my fingertips. What I do know is this: time is the most valuable thing I carry. And I'm learning, slowly, how to protect it.

If you're feeling the pull too: to slow down, to live with more intention, to reimagine what your tools are actually for, you’re not alone. Maybe it starts with a notepad and a pen. Maybe it starts with clearing some space. Either way, I’m right there with you, figuring it out one choice at a time.

Stay tuned to my device—I’ll be making a decision by the end of the month, and I’ve got a plan I can’t wait to share.