Technology

Literally just having a hotspot built in is keeping me on android. The lappy goes where I go, and that means as long as I have internet access I'm as connected as I could ever want to be.

Basically everyone has wifi, usually available after. I might just go out and get an unlocked dumbphone this week honestly.

Edit: yes I know about the mp02, its on the wishlist. I haven't had a job in over a year so I won't be getting it yet.

I am more curious about this section:

bureaucracy or banking apps force me to use it

Does it actually happen? How so? I never had any bank or anything else force me to use a phone, so I am having hard time imagining that. So I am genuinely curious about this portion of your message.

The apps 100%

I dint do calls often at all, so a flip/dumb phone doesn't appeal to me much. However, i have been very tempted to upgrade my existing smart watch to one with LTE connectivity and skip the smart phone completely.

The Apple watch, for instance, with LTE can do maps/directions, calls, texts, etc., without needing a smartphone near by. It would be much less to carry, less distractions, and way more convenient.

The big thing it can't currently do, however, is MFA for my job. It can do Authy and many others, but the one we require doesn't work, I've tried many times, so I'm stuck carrying a smartphone around if I want to remain employed.

I’m mostly using my phone as an all in one multimedia device I can fit in my pocket.

I don’t see the flip phone as a good replacement for this kind of use. It wasn’t back in those days either. We used dedicated MP3 players or portable radio for music listening for example.

2 factor authentication

I’m doing the flip phone thing with an ipad at home. I do miss streaming music and maps.

Pretty much nothing i use my phone for can be done on a flip phone. Smartphone is no distraction for me - I just use it when I need it to do something for me.

maps - occasionally GPS. mp3 player
mp4s watching on long train / bus rides or when camping. large sd card (500gb) memrise/ language learning app. occasionally guitar tuner occasionally internet is useful for checking events, buying tickets, checking for hotels and stuff. occasionally checking emails. occasionally playing mindustry (when i want my battery to die).

I don't carry a laptop most of the time that i'd need for most of that stuff above. TBH - I can't use many other apps anyway because I don't want GPS or microG installed - so I'm mostly just f-droid apps.

Edit - i'd also prefer something like simpleX to SMS, but I don't actually know anyone else who uses it - so not an issue really. I just have to SMS.

I have exactly one game and exactly one 2fa app that I would meaningfully miss out on switching to a dumb pbone, outside of those two things I would genuinely consider it.

Availability. There fucking aren't any.

what would need to change for you to actually give a flip phone a try?

For me to start using my phone as the main way of my computing needs and entertainment needs. Which I don't. I only use it to send messages and read when my laptop is not in my hands. So I essentially have a not-so-smartphone, not-so-dumbphone.

All I really need is calls, sms, a solid browser and some more robost messaging apps like signal and matrix/element - I'm a prime candidate for PostmarketOS if we ever get a stable piece of hardware. I have an old oneplus 6 that I've played with it on, its so close. If a flip phone could master that today, sure

I do use tap to pay, but meh I dont think I would miss it and android auto in my car could easily just be a bluetooth audio connection

I for one would go flip from Japan, Korean, manufactured phone. That could tether, mini tablet for maps or email or lemmy

navigation, and living in a country where it's really hard to find books

i have only ever had basic phones, dating back to my first nokia ~ 25 years ago. i don't have the need or desire to have an android or iphone. one time. just once, ever--i enabled cellular data on my phone so i could look something up--the current weather forecast (in the kai weather 'app') because it started to look like i might get stranded out in a bad storm and i forgot to check the forecast before i left.

Really only a handful of things:

1. navigation while traveling - don't need it much, if at all at home, but I travel often enough for work that losing that capability would be painful.

2. MFA - authenticator apps are the most convenient way to do MFA. SMS/email are terrible options for this and should only be used if there is absolutely no other option.

3. Access to the internet while away from home, both while traveling and while out and about

4. Music playback in the car

5. Communication - most of my friends don't use SMS/voice to talk, instead preferring Discord or Signal

Basically everything else I do on my phone could be done from a more proper computer with minimal inconvenience.

Banking, messages, email, calendars, discord, messenger, maps, browser, Voyager (Lemmy), YouTube, music, shattered pixel dungeon, Wikipedia, notes, swipe keyboard, duolingo, WhatsApp, desmos, reminders, camera, photos, home automation….

I use my iPhone for a ton of different things. I pretty much never use it to make calls and hate talking on the phone (which is what flip phones are optimized for).

No decent (local) music player, no DSP, no music streaming with newpipe, decent video player to watch series in bed, screen too small to read books, no e2ee messaging, no web browser, useless camera, operating system without security updates.

I honestly couldn't care less about calls and SMS, I only use that like few times a year.

I am actively avoiding calls and noone writes to me. If I were to give up a smartphone flip phone would be nearly useless to me

I simply wouldn't. A dumbphone does mostly the things I don't use a phone for.

And I don't mean fortnite and tickytocks, I've grown up through (most) of the history of mobile phones, I started with my mothers old Nokia 2110 back in like... 1998? I remember how awesome it was to finally have a phone, then to be able to get the bus schedules with the painfully slow WAP connection so I didn't have to call home, then to have navigation, replace the mp3 player, camera, and eventually even mostly my laptop.

I want to have a datapad with access to all the devices and information in my pocket at all times. If I need it to do something, I know there's an app for it probably. It's awesome.

I'd really prefer that the datapad wouldn't then leech all of my information in return, though.
Oh, and bring back physical keyboards. I'd give my left nut for an HTC Desire Z with 2025 hardware.

Yes, I had to delete lemmy, reddit, twitter, mastodon, all games etc.

But I see 0 harm in:

• 2FA authenticator apps (google authenticator, app for government ID, bank, ...)
• DHL (unlocks packing station / parcel distributing machine here)
• calendar (with voice assistant)
• Pixel, iPhone, Samsung and some others are a fantastic camera! 10 years ago, it'd be a great deal just for that one feature. I used to pay USD/EUR 250 - 500 for a hobby-level camera that was worse
• read my mobile CO2 sensor
• not crucial, but occasionally show someone something in a video call
• send injured animal photo / video right to the wildlife rescue station for advice (~ 2x per year)
• plain old mp3 player
• some might read eBooks, which is a good use of it, but I still prefer a hardcopy

So yes, on my 2nd smartphone only (first in 2021), but I find that it's worth it these days.

Enshittification intensifies, but a Linux phone might become very viable in a few years, especially when LLM adapters become easier to use. Self-hosted alternatives to google/apple photos are already very advanced.

Integration with my car stereo for music and GPS

Headphone jack. I just can't say this enough, despite the fact I have apple's wireless earbuds (of some clique name) in my pocket at this very second. Headphone jack.

Don't ask for it for yourself. Ask for it for the d-bag sharing music of some guy grunting over a drum track on the bus. We need to save him from the damage to his reputation when his friends remind him they knew he listened to such trash later when he needs to deny it.

I will switch to a dumb phone or even a pager for sms and phone calls the day i can offload all the rest to a VR headset i wear all day everyday XD

If it's at that point:

1. Set up a password manager on your desktop
2. Change your account passwords to something too long to remember, and keep them in the password manager

I have a Pixel phone with Graphene for offline maps, Wi-Fi, emergency calls, etc.