Hacker News

The Adam Smith Institute once added up all the govt spending demands made in a single news program and it came to like 10% of GDP.

Similarly the comments here: if only it could do all this and

* On/off button round the back

* More LTE bands

* An open bootloader (note to normies this is like saying "have a quantum multiplexer")

* Different screen ratio

* Different keyboard layouts

* Eink screen

* Bigger battery

* Be easier to use for someone with long fingernails (hello Nosferatu https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49751114)

* Be lighter

* Be smaller

* Have a website without javascript (really)

* Be cheaper (this one is satire) (no it's not)

Sure guys, why can't someone just build you your personal phone at the same price as the iPhone whose development costs are amortized over seval billions consumers :-/

I just want BlackBerry back.

Every single time one of these new "minimal", "dumb", "lightweight" phones comes up today it's just marketing wrapped around a kneecapped Android device. I am in the market for something simpler that does nothing more or little else than play local media/audio, read common document/text formats, ordinary SMS, current standard of telephony, and a different OS than Android. I have not seen anything like this yet.

Is this what HN has became? 22 hours, 200 comments and not a single positive one. I love it. Great classy look and feel. Well throughout keys for swipe. This is likely my next phone. Only wish is a better camera. Maybe MP03 will improve on that.

iPhone 13 mini (and ex-SE) user here, this phone looks great!

I like the minimal and solid looking design. I think the real keyboard is an interesting and welcoming compromise for its width. If the built quality is on point, I'd see no issue with the price.

Full Android also means there's no restriction in the apps I'd need. GrapheneOS on it would be great.

I appreciate the minimal color options - I have this thing where all my technical devices running software should be in all black, and any colorful details would just bother me a bit (looking at "playful" design choices like the lime green switch on the Fairphone 6).

Quick nitpick at their marketing team: "compact by design, made for one hand." can't possibly be true with a real keyboard on a phone.

Not to shill but if you're struggling with apps on your (i)phone, I can't recommend https://www.foqos.app/ enough. My weekly screentime (as measured by my iphone, not true screen time) is <1hr. NFC tag is optional you can literally buy a candy bar and tape the barcode to an index card and that will work. The physical layer is massive. Now my problem is just limited to desktop which is easier to control.

What I learned from carrying a phone with "2.5d" screen edges:

They make the screen effectively narrower in terms of usable area, while making the phone physically wider.

Do not want.

Please go back to 9:16 or 10:16 screen ratios. If you need more space for the battery, gently round the back. It feels nicer in the hand even when it's 50% thicker than your competitors.

Also, a fingerprint reader / power button on the back is superior to all other placements, and cutouts of any kind are distracting and wasteful. OnePlus managed a motorized pop-out selfie-cam and it's still working for me seven years later.

> Full Android. Every app you already use, there when you need it.

So it still requires a user to have self-control. If people had that, they could just uninstall the problematic apps from the phone they already have.

Small size (72mm is maximum width for use by one hand), jack port, physical buttons, aluminium body, open bootloader... Ok, I'm listening. But that price...

Why do we even need 12 GB RAM for distraction free phone? Why there is no microSD port?

I can't believe that statistic about 186 pickups per day, that would be every 5 minutes on average assuming 16 hours awake.

When I think about 'minimal' and 'phone', $600 USD isn't the number that makes sense to me.

It's kind of cool, I like that there are people trying to do something else, but I don't how it's "minimal" or discourages heavy use.

It's an Android phone, with pretty decent specs. Nothing is stopping you from installing social media apps and doomscrolling all day and night, and chances are you will do that if that's what you do with your phone, just as you can just delete social media apps from your current phone.

The custom UI and physical keyboard are innovative though, I don't think I've seen a physical keyboard with touch support before, and I wish them the best.

The most exciting thing for me about this phone is the physical size. It's not a "phablet" like every other phone these days, it's basically Nexus 4 sized (perfect size for my big hands) which means easy one-handed use.

Not sure if I will actually get one since my Pixel 4a 5g (w/ LineageOS + microG) is still going strong, but I will admit that I'm tempted by this.

Pixel a-series with GrapheneOS is already the "minimal phone" for hackers: cheap, reasonably small, hardened OS without Google spyware and bloatware. Compatibility with Android is fully retained so you can run things like Wireguard, Termux, Home Assistant and a myriad of other excellent FOSS (or non-FOSS) apps with complete sovereignty over your data.

I want to believe, but the first phone was like six months late with no/bad comms, and when it came it was barely usable due. I believe in the mission but have lost some faith here.

I hope they prove me wrong so I can buy Minimal Phone 3!

Why is this minimal if you can download all the normal android apps?

I was hoping this was minimal enough for somebody with dementia to use to make calls, but when they say "Phone" they don't mean like the old folks do.

I kept reading though, kind-of envying the physical keyboard because that would be fun, but I'm a swipe-typing guy through and through. Then I saw that it supports swipe typing, possibly by sliding your fingers across the keyboard. The idea of swiping across those keys literally gave me frisson, won't lie. That would be so groovy.

Remembers me of the Mecha Comet and the Clicks Communicator

I just wish I could get an answer from them on why a brand new phone is missing some pretty important LTE/5G bands in the US

I want minimal in size, not capability

One thing that is bugging me (and maybe it's buried on the website somewhere but I missed it) is that I can't figure out what version of Android the phone uses. I wouldn't buy a phone relying on an older version of it

Why is this phone barely lighter than an iPhone air with a massively bigger screen, two camera lenses, etc? I'm glad it's not heavier, but I would have hoped for it to be the lightest phone -- by far. (Minimal 2 is 7g lighter than iPhone Air).

<<a compact footprint>>

Oh, thank you. We need that. It's refreshing to know that we might have the option to buy a cell phone with less than 6.5 inch size.

Previous product: https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1s0ufqz/i_dont_...

Previous spotlight on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40609095

Haptic feedback on virtual keyboards is just fine if you ask me. I'm not sure why it needs mechanical keys, I don't really see how that adds anything of value on a phone these days.

I'm typing on my pixel 6 Pro and it still feels satisfying.

Gimmick?

I'm not sure about a return to keyboard, it's not large enough to actually type on, and swipe seems to be a much faster alternative to pecking at the keys.

Maybe swipe typing isn't as popular as I first thought.

I've been looking at this and the Clicks Communicator which should both be out by the end of this year. I'm not really a "dumbphone" person nor am I really a physical keyboard hound. I just want a smaller phone that feels better in the pocket and in the hand. I thought about a Razr but the proportions are a little awkward when opened. Its a little too long.

i really feel like the website for a minimal phone should be at least somewhat viewable without javascript.

Sorry, I just see a physical keyboard on a phone, and I cannot be convinced that it's a good idea. We're past that. If it were truly minimal, it wouldn't have a physical keyboard. It would have a full-screen display with a minimal but useful OS and UI/UX.

How long would the phone get security updates?

Also looks like they sell cellular plans too https://plans.minimalcompany.com/#plans

> shaped for one hand

Unfortunately, it is as wide as a regular iPhone (i.e. the 17e), so it’s not an iPhone mini/SE replacement in terms of one-handed use.

At 158 grams it’s also heavier than any mini/SE.

I would like more information on what Degoogled means and whether it’s still possible to install 3rd party apps by some other means. Nice looking device, I expected it to cost more. Also, does this only work in the US rn?

Wonder why they chose a different layout for the symbols on the physical keyboard than the default keyboard for Android. I'm sure that'll confuse a lot of people considering migrating, or worse, having to switch between them.

I find for these what happens is that the phone itself can’t actually install certain banking or security apps, and also our workplace restricts it.

Inevitably I have to carry two phones around Anyone find a solution around this?

The single input box with different prefixes for actions - @people, #call, - todo etc is very nice. I wish I could have such a powerful input box in my Home Screen. iPhone or even a trimmed down android with such an interface would be cool.

I’m not a fan of the physical keyboard, the broad shape(they say one handed use immediately followed by a video of someone using both hands to type). I’m okay with the candy bar all screen phones of today. The UX is pretty cool if I can have it on my “regular” phone..

Anybody have an idea if it is doable on an iPhone or an android phone?

I welcome this kind of innovation in mobile UX. It's absolutely refreshing!

I don't know if you see it or not; but they started with really really minimal and dumb looks, and in this version started to add colors, UI elements and... So I guess a few versions in, and they'll build a iOS/Android from the first principles...

I love the form factor. I would love to tinker with it!

Why on earth does this need an oled screen and aluminum body? They’re trying to be Apple when they should be the opposite.

I really like the _idea_ of a QWERTY phone, and halfway through this page there's a section showing how you can use special characters to invoke commands (presumably by just typing at the home screen?), like "- buy milk" to add a todo entry or "? aviation recipe" to search. This sounds great, and somewhat difficult to replicate on a touchscreen!

But I'm not convinced anymore that the actual typing experience is any good. Way before that exciting section, there's a video where somebody takes two full seconds to type "Hey bro you" on this phone's keyboard. I tried: in the same amount of time, I can type "Hey bro you mean everything to me" on my Pixel's default keyboard.

The demo video is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsLd7p9THL4

This is great. I really like the “dumb phone” movement.

Sadly for now they’re too expensive to buy just as an experiment.

so I'm tempted to order this even if its a premium price point. My question is how close to kickstarter buyer beware is this company?

I ordered the Astro Slide 5G and never received it, so much for me getting to see what all of the psion fuss was about, so this device is both tempting and making me remember past regrettable experiences.

I'm happy that this hardware exists but an easier solution is to quit social media, viciously curate your notifications and apps, and install an ad blocker. My phone only alerts me if somebody calls me, asks me a question specifically in a group chat, or DMs me. I never see any ads or any FOMO nags. Life is pretty good.

Minimal here is really confusing me: why a phone with so many physical buttons/keys and jack port is minimal but other phones without are non-minimal?

Hard to justify for $599/$699 when a new Pixel 10a is currently $424 on Amazon.

I feel like if you are really want to have a minimal phone, you can just use a smart watch now.

Neat. This is pretty close to what I’d be looking for, if I could really afford to pull the trigger on something like this (realistically I can’t - iMessage on laptop is too important for work).

If it natively plugged into the Apple ecosystem, now that would be difficult to refuse.

I need communicator: Wire, tox, simpleX, jabber and new invented after 2030

ouch and open boootloader

Reminds me of Jobs saying.. the problem with phones these days is the bottom 1/3.

Some still disagree.

A new QWERTY is a blessing, but please, open the bootloader and drivers so users can install whatever they want.

Like a lot of similar devices, it looks cool, but, just like a lot of similar devices which have a physical keyboard, it will probably never be released with anything else than a US qwerty keyboard, so I'm already out.

Update: didn't scroll down enough! Indeed they have. Neat.

I don't love it, I wish it was more handicapped

How does a minimal phone like this one compare to not installing a shitton of apps and disabling all but essential notifications?

The picture showing a thumb typing makes it clear that anyone with long fingernails is going to find it difficult to use.

Not available to people without tattoos.

Is this missing Android navigation buttons? I wonder if they considered to have them physical again.

yes, their bootloader is unlockable + de-googled os option

Maybe if GrapheneOS ran on it

Reminds me of a Blackberry

Reminds me of the peek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peek_(mobile_Internet_device)

I don't get why having a keyboard is minimal.

6000 series aluminium design, wowzers! And only $1699

I was excited before I saw battery section. 3600 mAh with 27W charging would be a bigger downshift than comfortable from 6000 mAh and 90W charging. I pray for +capacity version

I like the smaller scale. Once, I really cared about having qwerty, but now I don't care with the way touch has progressed (using Futo). It's the experience of the BB I miss. I'm not sure how far Linux phones have come but last I checked they were sluggish and unstable.

Eh, I just want a dump phone. But they all use the bigger SIM slot so it’s a bit hassle to use a micro/mini SIM.

Would love to have a physical keyboard on a degoogled Android, but disappointed that there is no cyrillic option for keys.

Very cool. If they could commit to a looooong time of publishing software updates (esp. security), and if I could trust them to actually do it, I would be very interested.

I hate switching phones and I am not buying short-lived devices anymore if I can help it.

I'm sorry, but I really cannot take any claims seriously on a website that is clearly designed and generated by AI. What part of this did a human even write? This could be entirely vaporware for all I know.

BlackBerry: Seriously?

72mm width ain't nothing to write home about, you can find even nowadays phones narrower than that

as for the rest, I fail to see why pay extra for this niche nonsense when you can achieve exactly same thing with whatever Android launcher you prefer, only differentiator of this device is physical keyboard

crap specs with only 90Hz display and MediaTek Dimensity 8300 for 600+ USD and it is not even released yet, but maybe in few months when these specs will look even worse than they already are

[flagged]

[dead]

[dead]

[dead]

Can I have the "minimal phone" that is a powerful ai assisted productive computing device. Minimal in UI only and not literally an useless machine?

I get why these types of devices are appealing from an "oooh new shiny" perspective but let's be honest: the smartphone design is essentially perfected. Software keyboards are far better than physical ones at that size due to the adaptive keyboard touch target re-sizing that goes on behind the scenes. Just use your existing phone and delete all the distracting stuff, it'll be far more reliable than some small-batch manufacturing run of something like this.