Rotary Un-Smartphone
Shares rank 8 of 9 dumb phones by recommenders
Recommended as a true dumb phone that is well built and beautiful; one critic says it costs enough to buy some used smartphones.
Recommended as a true dumb phone that is well built and beautiful; one critic says it costs enough to buy some used smartphones.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, 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
Well put together
“Pretty well put together.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “The Rotary Un-Smartphone” A true dumb phone
“Now that is a true dumb phone.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: Want to move to use a "dumb" phone. How to make the switch?” Attractive, beautiful small device
“What a beautiful little device”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: Want to move to use a "dumb" phone. How to make the switch?” Fun for vexing teenagers
“If for no other reason than vexing my teenage son.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “The Rotary Un-Smartphone”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Costly compared with used smartphones
“enough to buy some used smartphones (plural)”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “The Rotary Un-Smartphone”
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 2 | 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 | — | — |
| Rotary Un-SmartphoneThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“enough to buy some used smartphones (plural)”
“If for no other reason than vexing my teenage son.”
“Pretty well put together.”
“What a beautiful little device”
“Now that is a true dumb phone.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.