Folding phones are everywhere. Some are becoming more advanced than ever. Others, like the Light Flip, are heading in the other direction. That doesn’t make them less desirable, though. Just less of a distraction.
Light, the company behind the Flip, makes a fair number of less complicated phones. This one just happens to fold in half, like a chunkier version of the original Motorola Razr V3. And, like the company’s other phones, everything about it has been made as simple as possible.
You’ll Light Flip
While you’ll still have some modern-day conveniences — a 2.8in OLED touchscreen display (480 x 640), 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a MediaTek processor (the MT8873), and a quad-pixel binning 50MP rear camera sensor — most of the phone has been designed to avoid spending too much time with the thing.
Light has opted for a T9 keyboard (ask your grandparents, kids), 4G/5G internet connectivity, GPS features, and Bluetooth support. The Light Flip also handles both physical and eSIM setups. Since it’s largely custom-built, the range of apps (the things keeping us all distracted) is especially limited.
The company says that the Flip includes “an alarm, timer, calculator, calendar, directory, directions, notes/voice memo, a simple music & podcast player, weather and an authenticator (2fA) tool.” That’s all for now, though more options will come to the device via updates. Few, by the sound of things, will give you an endless scrolling experience. If you’re after that sort of thing, this isn’t the phone for you.
Ditto instant messaging and rideshare apps. Those don’t work on the Light Flip. Nor will, according to its creators, “social media, internet browsing, email, news, or ads.” That’s supposedly permanent.
You can have a distraction-free phone in 2026. This particular one will set you back a little over five grand, or R300. There will be shipping and import costs, too. Light reckons you’ll have to sort that out for yourself.
