The Light Phone II was my favorite high-end dumphone, taking over from the Punkt, and the Light Phone III (previously) changes the worst thing about it—the slow e-ink display (which I thought I'd love) is now a fast OLED one. And there are other upgrades besides…
The Verge's David Piece reviewed it and liked it: "a much better, more powerful, still extremely minimalist smartphone."
It's a smarter phone than the previous Light Phones, but it's still not a smartphone. It has no app store, no social media, no web browser, none of the things we do on our phones all day. That is, of course, the whole point: Light envisions the device as either a no-frills, nights-and-weekends complement to your smartphone or a wholesale replacement for anyone looking for much less screen time. … The Light Phone III comes tantalizingly close to being my ideal minimalist phone without getting quite there. Part of the problem is that the phone's not quite finished: its NFC sensor, video chat feature, and fingerprint reader aren't yet active, all of which would add some useful new possibilities to the device. Light is working on integrations that will go a long way toward fully satisfying my own list of essential phone things, too. And there are a few interface and usability things that make it hard to live the Light life.
ZDNet's Kyle Kucharski confirms that the move from e-ink to OLED makes all the difference for usability.
The display makes up the majority of the device's body, and it looks great. It's a 3.92-inch AMOLED (1080 x 1240) screen coated in a custom black matte glass that allows for a smooth, high-contrast interface. Unlike the Light Phone 2, this is not an E Ink device, so there is no ghosting or laggy refresh rate. It's crisp, precise, and ruthlessly minimal.
CNET's Mike Sorrentino complains about the price.
The $799 phone (which is currently $599 as an early sale price) is a substantial price hike from the $299 Light Phone 2, but the new phone swaps out the E Ink display for a 3.92-inch OLED display that the company says makes it faster. Despite the speed boost, the Light Phone 3 only includes a few features, the menu interface will be in black and white, and the phone does not include an app store for adding new ones.
Wired's Julian Chokkatu is very pleased.
What exactly can this cute, boxy device do? Unsurprisingly it keeps things basic, with just a few utility apps and nothing more: You'll get Phone, Alarm, Album, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Directions, Directory, Hotspot, Music, Notes, Podcasts, and Timer. The 3.92-inch matte OLED screen, which is far more responsive than the E Ink on the Light Phone II, allows you to swipe through the vertical touchscreen interface. It's super fluid and smooth, no doubt thanks to the upgraded Qualcomm SM 4450 chipset inside with 6 GB of RAM.
The smartphone-tier $600 price tag is the problem, along with the incomplete features. The NFC wallet is coming, but 2FA/TOTP doesn't seem to be on the list. Nonetheless, I'm so sick of my iPhone I might just sell up and eat it.
Light Phone III [thelightphone.com]
