Is the flip phone back? Is your next super-phone a folding one? And could either help with the complicated issue of tackling ‘screen time’? In two days, Apple will unveil its new iPhone. It will likely be called the iPhone 11 (and iPhone 11 Pro).
The main new features are expected to be extra cameras (there will be three on the back now, including a new ‘ultra-wide’ variant) and wireless charging. Otherwise, the iPhone will look and feel very like the existing buttonless iPhone XS and XR.
Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.
Log In
New to Independent.ie? Create an account
But having spent the past three days up to my waist in new phone launches at Berlin’s giant tech trade show (IFA 2019), there is a competing handset formula emerging. And it’s one you may remember. It’s the flip phone.
Nokia, in particular, has come out with one worth discussing.
The 2720 is an €89 flip phone with a 2.8-inch colour screen that connects to basic social media services.
It has other stuff like (relatively) amazing battery life and the ability to act as a mobile 4G hotspot itself.
The Finnish company, owned by HMD, is positioning this phone as something that might be suitable for pensioners or kids. But this is to miss the real market.
This is actually a phone for younger and mid-life adults who are plagued by their own boundaries around screen time. I’m guessing that this includes at least a third of anyone reading this column.
It’s for people who get trapped by auto-play videos and endless responses to controversial social media posts.
And those who reflexively reach for their phone out of muscle memory every five minutes for a mindless browse.
It’s even for people who tell themselves they’re staying informed on the issues via apps such as Twitter, but look back at each month and wonder what they actually did other than get angry and depressed (or, worse, contributed to the debate simply by sneering or dumping on others as an attempt at engagement).
Here’s the important bit about this phone: it is a hybrid, not an ultra-basic ‘feature’ phone. This is crucial.
The conventional narrative around excessive smartphone usage is that it’s a screen time addiction whose remedy is either cold turkey or strict time limits. This is far too simplistic. It grossly misdiagnoses the problem.
Social apps like WhatsApp aren’t just for entertainment. They’re now a basic part of the communications fabric between family, friends and important social contacts.
Telling someone they need to ‘just give up’ social apps like WhatsApp is like telling someone they need to just give up motorised travel. It’s possible and would generally do good. But it’s simply unrealistic for most people.
That is why a phone like the Nokia 2720 could potentially kick off an interesting new smartphone category.
It acknowledges that we have social relationships that need to be checked. But it’s saying there’s a middle ground between abstinence on a vintage button phone and indulgence on a six-inch ultra-high-definition screen.
Nokia may not know it, but it has created a semi-medicinal smartphone. This is what should be prescribed for people who say they want to cut back on endless daily social media scrolling.
This is far more productive and realistic than a moralistic lecture about why they’re suckers feeding a mendacious machine.
The 2720 provides other crutches for those who feel they will, at some point, need more than a few messaging or search apps. Chief among these is the ability to act as a 4G mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. So if you do find the need for more advanced online access, you can use the phone as a wireless way to get any laptop or tablet connected immediately.
The handful of apps it supports include Google, Google Maps, WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook. It also supports Google Assistant to a limited degree, meaning you can dictate texts.
A small 1.3-inch display on the outside of the clamshell phone tells you who’s calling or gives you messaging notifications. And it has a modest, two-megapixel camera on the rear.
And you’ve probably guessed it: I won’t be switching to one.
In a classic rationalisation, I have convinced myself that I am one of the few who ‘needs’ an ultra-modern smartphone.
I ‘need’ a large screen to read the news and watch news clips.
I ‘need’ state-of-the-art rear cameras to take photos (I’m a photography enthusiast).
I ‘need’ the power to be able to apply for things online, download applications and do conference calls (the 2720 has no selfie camera for video calls).
So, as you see, even after all that, I can still convince myself that I don’t need Nokia’s 2720; that it’s for other people.
For people like me, there’s a weaker new set of moderation models coming out soon. It’s the folding phones of Samsung and Huawei.
Samsung announced that it will finally release its controversial Galaxy Fold smartphone in late September.
In theory, this could also act as a mild deterrent on constant screen-staring.
First, because its 7.3-inch screen is slightly too big to walk around with, eyes glued as you dodge pedestrians.
And secondly, because the dual 4.6-inch half screens, which are smaller than most of today’s smartphones, may combine with the device’s overall weight and heft to curb incessant handheld usage.
But the Samsung Fold, like Huawei’s equivalent folding Mate X, has two challenges.
We don’t actually know whether they fully work. (Samsung’s initial release had to be postponed due to serious technical difficulties with the screen.)
Second, they both cost well over €2,000. So as a cure for this particular ailment (overuse of screen time), this is like taking a bath in champagne.
For people like me, it’s back to option one: cold, hard discipline. Just put the phone away, Adrian.
Source: Read Full Article