Light Flip Launched: Retro 5G Phone With No Apps, No Social Media Costs $299

Photo: AI-generated

Smartphones often turn out to be a distraction despite their utility. As people become addicted to reels and ignore their responsibilities, calls to reduce smartphone use intensify. With the world searching for alternatives, the prominence of retro phones also comes to light.

In this scenario, Brooklyn-based company Light has introduced a new flip phone that is reminiscent of old-time keypad phones with a retro design.

This phone, designed to help users reduce smartphone dependence, has many features:

Distraction-free: This is a completely simple phone with no apps, social media, or email. It is mainly targeted at those aged 18 to 30 who want to get out of the smartphone world.

T9 keyboard: It uses the T9 keyboard system to type letters by pressing number keys, just like old phones.

Flip Your Life: The company is also offering a special nine-month community program called “Flip Your Life” to help customers switch from smartphones to this phone.

This phone does not have a touchscreen. Instead, it uses a D-pad and function buttons. It also has triangle and square buttons similar to those found on gaming consoles. It features simple but capable hardware.

It has a 2.8-inch OLED matte glass display. Running on a simple operating system called LightOS, the phone is powered by a MediaTek MT8873 chipset. Along with this, it has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The phone features a 50 MP camera sensor that captures 12 MP photos by default and is backed by a 1,800 mAh battery.

It supports 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, a USB Type-C 2.0 port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and Nano SIM + eSIM support. Only basic tools such as an alarm, calculator, calendar, music, podcasts, weather, notes, directions, and a timer are available on the phone.

The Light Flip is available in six colors: black, navy, red, pink, yellow, and gray. It is currently available for pre-order, with shipping set to begin in April 2027. The phone is priced at $299.

It is currently unclear whether customers in India or other Asian countries will be able to order the phone directly. However, according to the company, it will be available globally through its official website.