Minimal Phone 2
The most recommended of 9 dumb phones
A small e-ink phone that people like for its compact size, look, and design to reduce phone use. Critics point to its high price, weak specs, and US-only keyboard.
A small e-ink phone that people like for its compact size, look, and design to reduce phone use. Critics point to its high price, weak specs, and US-only keyboard.
60 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 34
- criticize it
- 26
- approval share
- 57%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 34 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small size, less than 6.5 inches
“It's refreshing to know that we might have the option to buy a cell phone with less than 6.5 inch size.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “The most exciting thing for me about this phone is the physical size.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “I like the smaller scale.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” Classy, minimal look and feel
“Great classy look and feel. Well throughout keys for swipe.”
Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “I like the minimal and solid looking design.”
Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “The hardware looks amazing and I covet it.”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” Unlockable bootloader and de-googled option
“I kind of like the idea of this being a reflash to install apps”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “It says they offer a degoogled version, which is cool.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “their bootloader is unlockable + de-googled os option”
Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” Designed to reduce phone use
“I recently switched to a used Minimal Phone (no longer being made sadly) and its been great for this.”
Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “I'm tired of being on the network” “I like the idea of a phone designed to reduce use, but still have access to some things”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
High price for the specs
“crap specs with only 90Hz display and MediaTek Dimensity 8300 for 600+ USD and it is not even released yet”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “Hard to justify for $599/$699 when a new Pixel 10a is currently $424 on Amazon.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “3600 mAh with 27W charging would be a bigger downshift than comfortable from 6000 mAh and 90W charging.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” Only a US QWERTY keyboard
“it will probably never be released with anything else than a US qwerty keyboard”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “Wonder why they chose a different layout for the symbols on the physical keyboard”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” Clunky interface and uncertain typing
“I'm not convinced anymore that the actual typing experience is any good.”
Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “Minimal Phone 2” “The friction of everything being so clunky keeps me from picking it up”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Doomscrolling ourselves to death”
Other dumb phones people recommend
The four most recommended other dumb phones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal Phone 2This page | 34 | 26 | 57% | 2 | — | — |
| Commodore Flip Phone | 31 | 16 | 66% | 6 | — | — |
| Nokia phones | 29 | 10 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Commodore Digital Detox Phone | 14 | 11 | 56% | 1 | — | — |
| Mudita Kompakt | 8 | 2 | 80% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 63 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I recently switched to a used Minimal Phone (no longer being made sadly) and its been great for this.”
“I like the idea of a phone designed to reduce use, but still have access to some things”
“The hardware looks amazing and I covet it.”
“seems like a nice device on paper”
“Awesome. To make the device even smaller, I would probably get rid of the physical keyboard”
“I like the minimal and solid looking design.”
“Great classy look and feel. Well throughout keys for swipe.”
“I'm not convinced anymore that the actual typing experience is any good.”
“it's missing b14, b30, and b29 which are definitely required for AT&T”
“I welcome this kind of innovation in mobile UX.”
“their bootloader is unlockable + de-googled os option”
“It's refreshing to know that we might have the option to buy a cell phone with less than 6.5 inch size.”
“I can't figure out what version of Android the phone uses”
“Hard to justify for $599/$699 when a new Pixel 10a is currently $424 on Amazon.”
“The idea of swiping across those keys literally gave me frisson, won't lie.”
“Would buy in a heartbeat if it did.”
“Wonder why they chose a different layout for the symbols on the physical keyboard”
“I would have hoped for it to be the lightest phone -- by far.”
“I like the smaller scale.”
“I'm going to have to think carefully about why I should NOT order this device.”
“The most exciting thing for me about this phone is the physical size.”
“it will probably never be released with anything else than a US qwerty keyboard”
“If people had that, they could just uninstall the problematic apps from the phone they already have.”
“open the bootloader and drivers so users can install whatever they want”
“Ok, I'm listening. But that price...”
“crap specs with only 90Hz display and MediaTek Dimensity 8300 for 600+ USD and it is not even released yet”
“a pretty big differentiator”
“Nothing is stopping you from installing social media apps and doomscrolling all day and night”
“I kind of like the idea of this being a reflash to install apps”
“I'm not a fan of the physical keyboard, the broad shape”
“Nice looking device, I expected it to cost more.”
“this seems like a big feature”
“It says they offer a degoogled version, which is cool.”
“the website for a minimal phone should be at least somewhat viewable without javascript”
“3600 mAh with 27W charging would be a bigger downshift than comfortable from 6000 mAh and 90W charging.”
“I'm happy that this hardware exists but an easier solution is to quit social media”
“This is pretty close to what I’d be looking for”
“The payment terminals constantly have a hard time grabbing it, and when they do, they often throw a bizaare "multiple cards detected" error”
“The friction of everything being so clunky keeps me from picking it up”
“it works quite well as a PWA”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.