I loved the e-ink Light Phone II and we recommended it in our last gift guide: it's compact, simple to use and perfectly clear of distractions. But for me, the worst thing about it was the very thing that attracted me to it: the e-ink touch display. It was slow to refresh, slow to respond and made anything more complex than answering calls a real chore. With real-world needs always at hand–all the messaging–I found the phone's promise of doing less not quite so compelling as the idea of one that did enough. With the forthcoming Light Phone III, the designers bit the bullet and switched to an OLED display—and add other essentials-after-all such as a camera and NFC.
There's something lovely about the size and slower cadence of the E-ink Light Phone II – however, we know it's not for everyone. The Light Phone III retains the calm simplicity of the black & white interface on its larger matte OLED display. An update that delivers significant improvements to performance and overall usability without adding needless distractions.
We've also added a camera, but… in our own way. Taking inspiration from our favorite point-and-shoot film cameras, it has a dedicated real shutter button, with center focus and a fixed focal length. It's genuinely fun.
It also gets other relatively undistracting upgrades—USB-C charging, fingerprint ID, a flashlight, 5G, a clicky wheel for navigation—and the case is now metal rather than plastic. I love the squared-off industrial style too—it resembles vintage Sony transistor radios. It's $400 if you pre-order it now and ships January 2025.
Light Phone III [thelightphone.com]
