More is more: Light Phone is now accepting pre-orders for its third-generation minimalist cell phone. Set to arrive roughly five years after its predecessor, the Light Phone III will pack even more features into a device whose mission statement is less is more.
The new Light Phone is on track to ship with a 3.92-inch AMOLED (1,080 x 1,240) black-and-white display with a matte glass cover. It is powered by a Qualcomm SM 4450 alongside 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, leverages Nano SIM and E-SIM technology, and can connect to 4G LTE and 5G networks.
A single 50-megapixel camera is positioned on the rear, opposite a front-facing 8-megapixel shooter. There is also a USB-C port for connectivity, stereo speakers, dual microphones for noise cancellation, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and a fingerprint reader. The 1800mAh battery is replaceable.
Despite all of its features and capabilities, the company insists the phone will never have social media or Internet browsing, e-mail, news, or ads. "There are simply no infinite feeds," the FAQ states.
Co-founder Kaiwei Tang told The Verge that Light Phone III will include features that they have found most users simply cannot live without, like a better display and cameras. Other features, like the NFC chip, won't be functional out of the box when the handset ships but can be unlocked down the road when the need arises.
It'll be interesting to see whether or not Light Phone's "more is less" strategy proves effective. Simply adding additional features with each new iteration feels a bit counter productive, especially considering it is a product with a minimalist focus. Finding the right balance, as with most everything in life, will be key. Will the Light Phone III strike that perfect balance and serve as a true smartphone replacement? We shall see.
Light Phone III is available to pre-order now priced at $399, and is expected to ship in January 2025. Customers can cancel their pre-order at any time prior to shipping for a full refund, we are told.