Minimal Phone 2 - a powerful anti-smartphone introduced
Minimal Phone 2 is a smartphone designed to reduce digital addiction. It makes endless scrolling, videos, and entertainment less appealing thanks to its minimalist approach. The idea is simple: the phone should help the user communicate and solve tasks without constantly distracting them.
Minimal has introduced the second-generation anti-smartphone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, the Minimal Phone 2.
The new device features a 3.92-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1240×1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 90Hz. This replaces the E-Ink display of the previous model. The device’s body is made of glass and metal, which is a departure from the plastic body of the first version.
The Minimal Phone 2 is designed to reduce digital addiction. Its minimalist approach makes endless scrolling, videos, and other entertainment less appealing. The main idea is that the phone should help the user communicate and complete tasks without constantly distracting them.
Minimal OS, a custom Android shell, has five self-restrictions: turning the screen to grayscale, delaying application launch, blocking social networks, daily screen time limits, and “focus hours.” If the user wants to cancel any of the restrictions, he must reset the smartphone to its factory settings. The company considers this approach to be one of the main features of the device.
At the same time, Minimal does not prevent a more drastic way to get rid of restrictions. The manufacturer promises not to officially prohibit unlocking the bootloader and installing other firmware.
However, if another firmware is installed, the owner will lose one of the important functions of Minimal OS - the “text interface”. Through this interface, commands can be entered from the main screen using the keyboard. For example, the phrase “buy bread” will create a task in the corresponding application. In this way, you can send SMS, enter calendar entries, create reminders, make calls, search for applications and communicate with an artificial intelligence assistant.
The MediaTek Dimensity 8300 processor with 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM is responsible for the efficiency of the device. The internal memory capacity is 256 or 512 GB of UFS standard. There is also a 50-megapixel main camera, a 20-megapixel front camera, a 3000 mAh battery, and 27 W wired and 15 W wireless Qi charging technology. Additional options include 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, NFC, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
The Minimal Phone 2 is available in Onyx and Pearl colors. An exclusive orange version is available for pre-orders. The 256 GB version costs $599, while the 512 GB version costs $699. The exclusive orange model is priced at $899.