Over the last couple years, my love/hate relationship with tech has begun to veer more pronouncedly towards the 'hate' side. As much as I'd like to be someone who can take it or leave it, the dopamine dolloped out by the phone can be hard to resist. First I deleted social media, then I found myself staring at the web in general. Then I got rid of that, and I'd look at whatever was left – Photos, Notes... Settings?
Of course, the iPhone has settings ostensibly designed to help with this. But what use is Screen Time when you're free to disable it as you please? And there are even accessibility Settings that can 'dumb' your smartphone, but again – too easy to disable. No, I needed something else. I needed a dumbphone.
The dumbphone community is burgeoning right now. Over on Reddit, over 67k members of the r/dumbphones page. Wired recently called it "the smartest place online". But one thing that's clear from the many posts on that page is that there's no such thing as the perfect dumbphone. Everybody's requirements are personal – some want to switch off entirely, others want something that can supplement their smartphone. And there are apps that some people simply can't live without in the 2020s, such as WhatsApp and Spotify.
I've been through a few dumbphones in the last couple of months. I tried the new Nokia 3210, but found the phone too limited, realising there are some trappings of smartphone life I still need. These include the aforementioned music and messaging apps, and of course maps. And I think I've finally found the solution.
The MP02 4G phone from Punkt doesn't have most of these. It's a 'dumbphone' in the true sense of the word – it can make calls and send messages (though SMS or Pigeon), and offers a calendar too.
But the Punk MP02's secret weapon is its 4G hotspot. This means when I want to switch off, I can stick my sim card in the Punkt phone and 'disconnect'. But if I'm carrying, say, my iPad mini in my bag, I can tether the 4G connection to it at the press of a button, giving my access to the likes of music and maps when needed.
But perhaps the best thing about the Punkt MP02 is the aesthetic. Conceived by industrial designer Jasper Morrison, the phone has a delightful retro and somewhat brutalist 1970s-inspired look. I've been asked whether it's a calculator, which just about sums it up. In a world of 'Y2K' dumbphone designs, it's refreshing to see something that stands out.
The one downside of the Punkt MP02 is the price - at £259, it isn't cheap. But this is a high-end design object made by a Swiss company that produces beautiful products including alarm clocks and USB chargers. And if you're looking to disconnect, there's something to be said for making an investment, and incentive it might give you to stick with it.
After a couple of weeks with the Punkt MP02, I'm convinced it was the right choice for me. I can access the internet if needed, but it creates just enough friction to give me a moment to decide whether I really need to stare at a screen in the moment. And it help that it looks beautiful doing it.
