It might not exist just yet beyond these initial renders, but Aeros is the latest contender in the burgeoning anti-smartphone movement. Unlike other so-called ‘dumb phones’, the ultra-compact new phone from the Norwegian company takes a different tack in the quest to tone down device domination – its size.
Minimal scale means minimal apps
‘Screens keep growing, and so does the time we spend on them’
Aeros’ founder Tor Oveland Vimme
With a 4.4-inch screen, the Aeros phone is essentially half the size of a regular contemporary phone. ‘Our whole philosophy fits in four words – less screen, more life,’ says Aeros’ founder Tor Oveland Vimme. ‘We exist because of a simple observation: screens keep growing, and so does the time we spend on them.’
Functionality is deliberately limited to essential items
Oveland Vimme cites not only the growing legislative resistance towards early adoption of smartphones (‘Australia's under-16 social media ban – a world first – came into force in December; Denmark is moving towards a ban for under-15s; our home country, Norway, has its own age-limit bill on the way,’ he notes), but reckons that new laws and industry-driven ‘solutions’ aren’t necessarily enough.
Aeros have downsized the smartphone to limit its impact
‘Most of the industry's answers are software: screen-time dashboards, app timers, locks,’ Oveland Vimme continues from the company’s base in Kristiansand. ‘To us, that is like handing a child in a sweet shop the key to the sweet shop – the lock does not change the appetite. You have to change the feeling itself.’ Hence the decision to veer off the upgrade path and essentially downgrade the smartphone without losing any core functionality.
The proposed Aeros phone
‘Every new generation of phones ships a slightly bigger, slightly brighter screen, and the hours follow it,’ Oveland Vimme says. ‘We want to build a deliberately smaller one, without giving up the modern essentials people rightly expect: payments, maps, camera, messaging.’ The Aeros isn’t for consuming video media or getting distracted by doomscrolling, nor is it a semi-pro image-making machine (even though there are front and rear cameras).
The company's first phone, the Aeros Juno
‘Our first phone, the Aeros Juno, was this idea made real: a 4-inch Android phone weighing 106 grams, running our own interface, Aeros One UI – calm, stripped back, nothing shouting for attention,’ says Oveland Vimme. ‘We launched in Norway in April 2026; the first 100 units sold out, and a Founder's Edition of 200 is currently selling in Sweden.’
The proposed new 4.4-inch Aeros smartphone
Now Aeros wants to crowdfund its next step. ‘We are designing our own phone from the ground up,’ the founder explains. ‘Our website says exactly what it is – a concept, a phone that does not exist yet. Reservations are fully refundable until production is funded, and the milestones are public before anyone commits a krone.’
The proposed phone has front and rear cameras
There’s a list of shiny renders and specifications (‘every spec is a target’), with the goal of raising $222,000 by the end of 2026 to lock in the design and create the tooling and the moulds. Finding ways to redress the imbalance of social media doesn’t seem to come easily. Aeros’ pitch preserves the status quo but simply dials down unnecessary engagement, making it perhaps the smartest phone of all.
The proposed Aeros phone
Aeros mini phone, $399 to reserve, Aeros.no, Aerosphone.com, @Aerosphone