The Light Phone 2 Almost Changed MY Life When I Reviewed it!

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The digital world has been taking over our lives; we struggle to focus on the here and now, we constantly think about work and how we can get ahead, and we forget to connect with our friends and family. At least, that’s how I was feeling when I reached out to Light Phone to see if they’d send out one of their devices for us to test out (thankfully, they were open to gifting this one to me).

One of the biggest hindrances to being in the moment is that little (or not so little) rectangle in your pocket. While I’m a huge fan of high-tech devices and everything they can do, I also know there is a real issue with it. Having all of the earth’s knowledge at our fingertips pulls us back into looking at the screen instead of enjoying the sunny day.

Because of that, both my wife and I tested out this Light Phone 2 to see what it was all about and if we could live without our full-feature smartphones! So stay tuned for that, including what we did and didn’t like and exactly who we think this phone is for.

Quick Note: This is one of the longest product reviews I’ve ever written, so feel free to use the below links to get to anywhere within the article!

What is the Light Phone 2?

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This is an e-Ink Dumb Phone (or a Light device as they like to call it); while it may be based on Android, it has been taken down to the very basics. Gone are all of your normal social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. Instead, they are replaced with tools (not called apps, but they essentially are).

So what apps does it have? You can have your Phone (which doubles as the texting app), Alarm, Directions, Calculator, Music, Podcasts (which utilizes Apple Podcasts’ API), Notes, Calendar, Hotspot (yep, it has a hotspot), directory (because you don’t have a browser, but still need to find that local restaurant), and directions. Each of these apps can be removed or added via an online portal and cannot be adjusted on the phone itself.

As for the exterior of the device, it is definitely a small phone at 3.8″ high by 2.2″ wide and 0.34″ thick (the screen itself is 2.8″ diagonal), and weighing in at just 78 grams. It comes with a standard headphone jack (for calling, music, and podcasts), and its battery will last somewhere around one or two days.

What do I like about the Light Phone 2?

1. Removes distractions that keep you on your phone, but keep the necessary!

The Light Phone 2 (Paid Link) exists to do one thing, and thankfully, it does that extremely well! It cuts back all of the notifications, social media feeds, and fancy high-end screens and gives you only what you need, which is essentially calls and texts (with a few extra things that were deemed minimalist, such as hotspots and a directory).

When you look at the device in what it’s intended for, it does it extremely well. You feel like you don’t have to look at your phone constantly, you feel much more in the moment, and you don’t constantly feel like you need to check to see if someone emailed you because you can’t.

Now, you might be asking yourself: “Why don’t I just delete Facebook from my phone?”. Well, because you can get it right back. It’s easy to delete an application off of your phone only to justify re-downloading it days later because “you need to sell something on Facebook Marketplace”. When it comes to the Light Phone 2, you don’t have that option.

2. Extremely compact (you don’t feel it on you)

Something we didn’t realize until we started carrying the Light Phone 2 was how much you DIDN’T notice it, not because of the lack of applications but just because of how small and lightweight it is. My iPhone 15 Pro feels like a brick in my hand (or the Galaxy A12 shown in the image above), and I am constantly aware of it being in my front pocket just because of how heavy it is.

On the other hand, the Light Phone 2 (which is 78 grams, as opposed to 187 grams) barely registers in whatever pocket you have it in. This is just another reminder of how attached we are to our phones and how this phone can help. Just don’t forget about it in your back pocket, as it is still breakable (even if it doesn’t feel like it).

3. Only two types of notifications, texts and phone calls

So, what’s the #1 reason why you end up checking your phone? The screen lights up, and a notification banner shows up on your screen, letting you know one of your hundred apps wants you to check it, whether it be a game, social media, or even your bible application vying for your attention.

The Light Phone 2? It has exactly two notifications. You can get a notification for a missed call or when you receive a new text message. Oh, and both of those are annotated by a tiny asterisk next to the clock on the lock screen. You won’t find yourself reaching for your phone very often due to notifications on this phone.

4. Includes podcasts and hotspot functionality (Speaker is quite decent)

I truly do believe that Light Phone (the company itself) has spent a LOT of time thinking through what functionalities to include. You have to remember this is an Android-based phone, and there are plenty of e-ink-based devices that offer the full suite of Android features on their devices. The Light Phone 2, which you can buy here (Paid Link) is not restricted by the ability to have those features but because the company DECIDED not to have those features.

Some tools (applications) that I appreciate their thinking through are the inclusion of a podcast app and the hotspot functionality.

Starting with the podcasts! Podcasts are an awesome way to learn new things while also being entertained. However, what they aren’t is an app where you can scroll endlessly on a feed. Now, you might be thinking: “What about scrolling endlessly looking for podcasts?”. Ahh, they thought of that as well, as you subscribe to podcasts on your desktop, and only those subscribed podcasts will show on your Light Phone 2. Good thinking!

As for the hotspot side of things, this comes down to the 2-device thinking. One of the best setups you can have in minimalist tech is something like this Light Phone 2, and then a secondary tablet device. You will find yourself less likely to keep a tablet on your person and less likely to find yourself doom scrolling (especially when you are out and about). So, the ability to tether your Light Phone 2’s data to a tablet is a big plus for those times when you need to research something.

5. The sound quality is better than expected.

I’m sure you’ve held a device like the one I’m talking about. One of those low-end, cost-cutting audio MP3 devices that sound about as terrible as they look? Well, while the Light Phone 2 (Paid Link) may not be cheap and is, in fact, quite well made, however, it’s a stark contrast to the glass-backed smartphones we are used to.

Because of that, I think I had the expectation that the audio (both the external speakers and the headphone jack) would be lower quality. Although, we found that they both worked extremely well! This is something you can listen to music on, something you can easily listen to podcasts on, and it is a device that can make awesome speakerphone-style phone calls.

6. Battery life is respectable.

Light Phone claims a one to two-day battery life from this 950mAh battery “dumb phone.” From our testing, that seemed to ring true and might even be better than that! Considering Light Phone sent us a refurbished model to test out, that makes it that much more impressive. We didn’t ever feel like the device was going to run out of battery with normal usage, and we were quite impressed with that.

That said, this device is powered via a micro-USB cable (which is included in the box, without a power block), so if you’ve made the switch to a USB-C-only life, this will be a step back for you (but nostalgic, at least).

7. No more blue light

I know very little about the effects of blue light and won’t pretend to here; however, if you are someone who is looking to avoid blue light, this device doesn’t have it! E-Ink feels very much like paper, not just physically but visually as well. I very much prefer looking at this device rather than a standard smartphone screen!

What do I not like about it

1. Texting can be a bit of a pain!

Considering texting is one of the few things that this device does, we were both not impressed with its capabilities in this department. While the refresh rate on the screen caused quite a few mistypes, the biggest issue was autocorrect.

After years of using autocorrect on iPhones, which also has gotten better and better over the years, the lack of a good autocorrect became apparent quickly. This became all that more evident when you had to fix your error, as getting back to your mistake could also be laborious. In fact, it was annoying enough that phone calls became the easier way to communicate with people. Which, depending on how you look at it, might be a good thing?

2. You miss out on some crucial apps that are built into our world.

I didn’t notice how many things are built into our world that require a smartphone to work until I started utilizing minimalist phones like this one right here. While it does sound nice to cut back on the bloat, notifications, and endless feeds, the unfortunate byproduct is that you also lose out on the good things that come from technology.

There are lots of services that have moved to digital resources (and smartphones to function). Some great examples are 2-factor authentication applications, keyless storage unit access, work-based communication applications (this is arguable), and more. Unfortunately, none of those are compatible with this device, and you lose out on those capabilities. This is likely the #1 reason why most people will have a hard time switching to this device because, in this digital age, there are some necessary things you have to have.

3. Keeping your existing service is iffy (and voicemail)

I tested out Light Phone’s own service plan when I put the Light Phone 2 through its paces (thanks to the free month of service they give with every phone)! I had no complaints during the setup process, and it was incredibly easy to set up, manage, and even cancel (as I didn’t need the additional line).

However, the bigger issues came when my wife attempted to switch her Straight Talk SIM card into the device.

Light Phone states these carriers will work with this device: “Light, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (no prepaid, no numbers are), Ting, Mint, US Mobile.”

They also openly state that these carriers will NOT work: “Sprint, Google Fi, Cricket, Spectrum, Red Pocket, Xfinity, Black, H2O, Consumer Cellular, US Cellular, Metro by T-Mobile, GCI, Straight Talk, PureTalk, Tracfone, Patriot. There are many carrier partners (MVNOs) that are not supported. We cannot supply a complete list.”

The reason behind this compatibility issue comes down to the bands that the phone comes equipped with! Unfortunately, the bands on this specific device (at least in the USA) aren’t super comprehensive, to say the least.

After switching the SIM card from her iPhone and some IT support, we were able to get the device to function with the Straight Talk card; however, after a week, it all of a sudden stopped receiving text messages. It could send texts and make and receive calls, but it could not receive texts, and we never figured out why.

So, while you may THINK you can get around Light Phone’s disclaimers we talked about above, you are definitely putting yourself at risk if you don’t listen to them.

Oh, voicemail was also an issue we ran into, as we’ve both used visual voicemail in the past, and I think that messed with some settings, as neither of us could ever access our voicemail.

4. Scrolling isn’t great

I’m sure most people have utilized some form of e-ink display in the past! Yes, those screens that Kindle’s have! Well, that is what the 2.8″ display on this Light Phone 2 has. The technology is something I’m not going to get too far into here; however, with the much lower refresh rate on this device comes low-quality scrolling. When finding our way through your contacts, podcasts, or a text thread, we found that you wouldn’t scroll far enough with a single swipe, or maybe too far!

With normal smartphones, the screen goes as fast as your finger does; however, with an e-ink display, it has a bit more set increments for scrolling. Unfortunately, this can cause a bit of a frustrating experience. That said, e-ink has gotten much better over the years, with much higher refresh rate capabilities, so I would really enjoy getting to see an updated Light Phone 2 in the future (the upcoming Light Phone 3, with a non-e-ink display, is an exciting new phone, with a lot of fixes, but it would be awesome to see a revamped Light Phone 2 as well).

5. Lack of camera

In the days of yonder, you would have your flip phone and you would have a point-and-shoot camera. However, as smartphones have gotten better over the years, point-and-shoot cameras have stayed quite stagnant.

When you have a smartphone like this Light Phone 2, which is not equipped with a camera of any sort, you don’t have any other good, portable devices to take easy pictures with (at least that I’ve tested or used).

It would have been awesome to have even the smallest of cameras on this device, which can be exported to a computer. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Now, that is also the main reason why you won’t find an e-ink display on the new Light Phone 3, as e-ink can’t handle the refresh rate needed to make a great camera, which the new version of this phone finally will have (and am excited to test out).

Who is the Light Phone 2 for?

So I’ll let you in on something. The Light Phone 2, unfortunately, isn’t going to be my long-term device, and I’m back to my iPhone 15 Pro. The major deal breakers for me were the apps that I had to have, as well as the camera. Ultimately, while the Light Phone 2 does an amazing job at pulling me back into the here and now, it held me back in a few places that I just couldn’t get past. This is also why I’m excited to test out the Light Phone 3, as I’m hopeful its added functionality will be the tipping point for me.

So, with that said, the Light Phone 2 is for that minimalist who is willing to go through all of the effort to adjust their life to allow for the lack of a true smartphone. Someone who is willing to set up a tablet as a second device and someone who isn’t afraid of missing out on photo memories! If you can make those decisions in your life, I have no doubt that you will be better at it with the Light Phone 2. No more blue light, no more notifications (or at least nearly as many), no more endless social feeds, and people vying for your attention to look at an ad.

Where should you buy the device?

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