The Light Phone

08/21/2026

Even the simple action of closing the phone factors into how Light sees the Flip as a part of your everyday usage. You're putting it away. It's like closing a laptop or placing your iPhone face down on the table. It's a physical reinforcement.

Light is back once again with a device that their users have been clamouring for: an old school flip phone with modern sensibilities.

07/22/2026

Wired: The Light Flip Is the Stylish Dumb Flip Phone of Your Dreams

“They describe their flip phone as ugly, stupid, no one is updating the software, some still have social media, no one is repairing the phone," says Tang. “But they stick with it.” His cofounder, Joe Hollier, says these consumers know it's frivolous, but they're “just so anti–Big Tech.”

Read the full article:

A flip phone with 5G, USB-C, a headphone jack, and a removable battery? Say it ain’t so.

07/21/2026

There’s a nostalgia for a time before smartphones, when phones were just that.

Time and time again, we‘ve heard from people – especially the younger generations - who love flip phones, but the current options are poorly made, slow, unsupported, and often pre-installed with the same addictive apps built in. Light is taking everything that already works for tens of thousands of Light Phone users and is bringing that into a heavily-desired yet timeless tactile form factor of a flip phone.

Light Flip combines a modern, custom-built operating system (LightOS), durable hardware, and the same ethos that has defined our company: humanely designed phones that help people stay connected without constantly competing for their attention. All while still bringing the best aspects of technology; a headphone Jack, USB-C, bluetooth, wifi and 5G connectivity.

Now available for pre-order: https://www.thelightphone.com/lightflip

07/21/2026

There’s a nostalgia for a time before smartphones, when phones were just that.

Time and time again, we‘ve heard from people – especially the younger generations - who love flip phones, but the current options are poorly made, slow, unsupported, and often pre-installed with the same addictive apps built in. Light is taking everything that already works for tens of thousands of Light Phone users and is bringing that into a heavily-desired yet timeless tactile form factor of a flip phone. 

Light Flip combines a modern, custom-built operating system (LightOS), durable hardware, and the same ethos that has defined our company: humanely designed phones that help people stay connected without constantly competing for their attention. All while still bringing the best aspects of technology; a headphone Jack, USB-C, bluetooth, wifi and 5G connectivity.

Now available for pre-order !

07/15/2026

Introducing Weather & Authenticator (2FA)

These are the first tools we created using our new software development kit, which is also now live for anyone else to try too! (https://developers.thelightphone.com)

It's been so exciting to see people getting involved and starting to build some really cool stuff! We are still on track to have the community Tool Library live for everyone by late September. This is the beginning of a new chapter for LightOS development - we can't wait to keep rolling out new features this summer and beyond.

07/09/2026

"Two years, three months and seven days.

I’m 24, and that’s the amount of my life I’ve already spent on my phone, according to a screen time calculator.

The statistic is sobering. "

I swapped my smartphone for a 'dumb phone'. It changed me:

Can you survive a month without a smartphone? I tried it.

07/07/2026

We worked with Dr. Nesi of Techno Sapiens to help 10 subscribers try going light for a few weeks, and then we got together to discuss what we all learned from the experience!

"Here’s the takeaway: switching to a Light Phone had positive effects for all users, but it was most effective for those who wanted to do it.

It sounds obvious, but this is an important and consistent finding across the digital disconnection literature: we need to find strategies that work for us, personally."

Read all about it:

What really happens when you take the plunge

07/02/2026

We've been enjoying the Summer of Ludd programing all around New York City!

Wired, "Inside the Luddite Festival Harnessing Gen Z's Rage Against Big Tech"
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-the-luddite-festival-harnessing-gen-zs-rage-against-big-tech/

Learn more about the rest of this week's events:
https://buttondown.com/nycofftech/archive/summer-of-ludd-schedule/

New York City’s Summer of Ludd festival is teaching people how to live offline amid the suffocating presence of Big Tech.

07/02/2026

Thingtesting on the growing field of alternatives to the smartphone.

Our co-founder Joe spoke on what's driving the shift: "There are some really awesome things that happen when you take away things that you feel like you need."

full piece here:https://thingtesting.com/stories/dumbphones-vs-smartphones?__s=r7nr6vt8zqvk964ncu3i&utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue+%23320&utm_content=The+problem+with+dumbphones%3F+Everyone+else%27s+smartphone

06/24/2026

On Tuesday, June 30 at 1pm et, we're hosting a town hall with Techno Sapiens, the best-selling Substack on kids' digital well-being, written by Dr. Jacqueline Nesi, a psychologist and researcher at Brown University.

We'll be talking about the latest research on minimalist phones, what "going light" actually looks like day to day, and whether the science supports what a lot of people are already feeling.

Register for free here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/oNJFIcYUS3a024xheipoXw?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email #/registration