Just about a week ago, a rather cool project that started with Indiegogo fundraising embarked on the shipping journey. While that is an achievement in itself for a crowdfunded project, it’s the device itself that truly stands out. Say hello to The Minimal Phone.
The Minimal Phone is the “First E-Ink QWERTY Phone,” proclaims the company. This is not just another minimalist phone with an E Ink panel that claims to get your phone addiction in order by serving a less-appealing monochrome panel.
This one even adds a physical keyboard to the mix. A tactile QWERTY keyboard, that is.
Now, BlackBerry has long been out of the game. The brand’s last smartphone attempt that aimed to capitalize on its stunning legacy with QWERTY keyboards was the Key2 series back in 2022.
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A few Chinese brands, such as Unihertz, have continued to sell phones with a physical keyboard, but those are niche items. Minimal Company has essentially combined the retro yearning for a physical keyboard with the idea of an e-ink screen that will help us tone down our digital addiction habits. On the Minimal Phone, you get a 4.3-inch panel with a 4:3 aspect ratio, reminiscent of LG’s weird Vu series smartphones.
“High-performance games or video-heavy apps may not provide the best user experience,” the company puts it bluntly. It’s not impossible, though. I did enjoy a few pulls in Angry Birds on the Boox Palma 2, which also comes with an e-ink screen.
Thankfully, saner thoughts prevailed and the company decided to give it a full Android treatment (v14.0, to be precise), which means this is a fully functioning phone. But as the company puts it, with The Minimal Phone, the whole point is to “live more, scroll less.”
It is not going for the “phone-like” approach, but it’s a proper phone with SIM-driven calling and data facilities. If you live in the US, big carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are covered.
The Minimal Phone comes equipped with a 3,000mAh battery, but thanks to the low-power paper-like monochrome panel, it is claimed to last “several days.” There are a few other niceties on this phone, that might come as a surprise.
There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on this phone. Despite rocking a black-and-white screen, this phone packs a 16-megapixel camera, accepts two SIM cards, and even offers space for microSD storage expansion.
You also get a side-mounted fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button. The company didn’t skimp on the innards either, it seems. Enthusiasts can pick between variants with 6GB and 8GB RAM, with a corresponding choice for 128GB and 256GB onboard storage.
The phone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G99 processor, while camera duties are handled by a 16-megapixel rear sensor and a 5-megapixel selfie snapper. There’s a physical navigation bar with three buttons right under the display.
Starting at $399, a $100 discount on its sticker price for pre-orders, The Minimal Phone is now shipping across the world. It is available in white, black, and a dual-tone black-white format.