New Light Phone III is all retro-simplicity to soothe your over-laden mind

Not every tech company is out chasing the latest and smartest in AI innovation. This is the Light Phone III, the latest iteration of the no-frills smartphone from the New York-based company. Smartphones are somewhat schismatic right now, with ChatGPT and its data-hoovering rivals looking to become embedded elements of your everyday pocketable device. On the other hand, we have the rise of the deliberately dumb and boring phone, handsets that make great virtue of their inability to distract and detect. 

Light Phone III promises no social media, email, or internet

The new Light Phone III is the latest iteration of a device that debuted back in 2014. That first version was followed by the Light Phone II, with its simple black and white E-ink screen and the company promise that the device ‘will never have social media, clickbait news, email, an internet browser, or any other anxiety-inducing infinite feed’.

What does the latest version of the Light Phone bring? Having sold 100,000 examples of the II, these are still niche devices, but the company has managed to walk the tightrope of enhancing functionality without sacrificing its core principles. ‘The Light Phone III will, of course, never have social media, email, or the Internet. Nor will we ever serve an ad or collect user data,’ they say promisingly.

Instead, upgrades have focused on the screen – now a large matte OLED display that still runs the company’s dedicated OS in black and white – the addition of an NFC chip for tap and go payments, and the inclusion of Bluetooth, USB-C and even front and rear cameras. 

Of course, the focus on phone use and mental health has never been greater, not least its impact on the young. However, whilst the III might have a certain retro appeal to the cognoscenti of electronics design, it’s unlikely to find much traction amongst ever the savviest teen trendsetters.

These incessant communicators are not Light Phone’s target market. Instead, the company is aiming at those who lament losing a couple of hours to mindless doomscrolling, caught in a cycle of endlessly checking notifications and updates and forever finding shiny new distractions for those little hits of dopamine. 

Black and white displays have been shown to decrease our over-reliance on smartphones (your device probably has the option, buried deep in a menu), but Light Phone III’s self-conscious disavowal of tech’s relentless boosterism about display density, brightness and vivid colour reproduction comes as a welcome relief.

The company claims its new camera system is inspired by classic point-and-shoot designs, without the smart computational photography skills of an iPhone or Pixel. Instead, there’s a fixed focal length, central focus and a dedicated shutter button. Lo-fi is the way to go. All this is contained within a solid-looking metal casing, with exposed screws (to get at the replaceable battery), a jog wheel for navigation and a squarish shape that moves the needle away from ‘classic’ but pernicious smartphone proportions. Perhaps the only thing that’s missing is an old school 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Light Phone III is a brave attempt to bring simplicity back to communication devices, something that deliberately discards ‘the internet, social media, the news, email or any click bait-y infinity whatsoever’.  If carrying all the knowledge, angst and conflict in the world in your pocket is weighing you down, this could well be worth a try. 

Light Phone III, introductory price $399, first units shipped in early 2025, more information at TheLightPhone.com, @TheLightPhone