I like minimalist phones more in theory than I probably would in practice. I want fewer reasons to stare at a screen, but I also know I’m used to my phone doing ordinary things quickly and without putting up a fight.
That’s why the Minimal Phone 2 interests me. It swaps the original model’s E-paper display for a smoother 90Hz AMOLED panel, alongside faster hardware, 5G, and better cameras. If I were buying one, I’d probably want most of those upgrades too. The problem is that once you add them all together, the Minimal Phone starts looking suspiciously like the smartphones it was supposed to offer an alternative to.
The limitations were part of the appeal
The first Minimal Phone worked partly because you couldn’t negotiate with its limitations. Minimal pitched the E-paper display as a way to reduce distractions without giving up access to Android apps. You could still install YouTube or Instagram, but watching either on E-paper wasn’t exactly an invitation to get comfortable. Doomscrolling suddenly required some dedication.
I can see the appeal of a phone that occasionally makes me think, “Actually, never mind,” when I reach for it because I’m bored. Some owners felt similarly, arguing that the E-paper experience was what separated the Minimal Phone from another Android handset with a keyboard.
The Phone 2 makes that relationship messier. A faster and smoother experience fixes genuine annoyances, which is normally exactly what I want from a new phone. It also removes one of the original model’s more effective ways of getting me to put the thing down.
There are good reasons for changing it
Minimal had practical reasons to move away from E-paper too. One of its developers explained that finding a suitable panel in the right size and making a meaningful leap over the first model would require costly research and development.
I also understand why some owners would welcome the change. Deliberate inconvenience sounds charming until it gets between you and something you actually need to do. Eventually, the phone stops teaching you healthier habits and starts getting on your nerves. Other users see that irritation as part of what they were paying for in the first place.
I’m awkwardly between those camps. I don’t want my phone tempting me into an hour of scrolling, but I also don’t want opening a boarding pass to become a character-building exercise.
Can software replace an annoying screen?
The Phone 2 now asks software to do more of the work that E-paper once handled by default. Minimal still wants the experience to feel calmer and more intentional, with features such as Focus Hours helping shape how the phone is used even as the hardware underneath becomes much easier to live with.
That’s where I become less convinced. An E-paper display doesn’t care whether I’m feeling disciplined that afternoon. If Instagram looks miserable on it, Instagram looks miserable on it. Software-based restraint still asks more cooperation from me than a display that makes distraction physically less appealing.
And maybe that’s the trap. People still expect an expensive phone to respond quickly and handle the things they genuinely depend on, and it’s hard to blame anyone for wanting that. But Minimal can keep making the Phone 2 nicer until there’s very little left in the hardware stopping me from using it like any other smartphone.
The Minimal Phone 2 may end up being the more useful product because of these compromises. But at a certain point, you have to wonder if “Minimal” still describes the phone at all, or just the story you tell yourself while carrying yet another near-smartphone in disguise.