Minimalist Light Phone III With OLED Display Launches With A Huge Preorder Discount
Since the first model came to light in 2015, Light (the company behind the Light Phone) has made it a goal to offer users a chance to own a primary smartphone that eschews web browsing, social media, games, and apps. Aside from the basics, such as making phone calls and sending texts, Light Phones have basic navigation, a music player, notes, calendar, and alarm tools—the essentials, basically.
While the first two phones could arguably be considered curiosity objects or niche products, Light is hoping that the Light Phone III gains increased acceptance with the introduction of what may be the biggest missing feature previously: built-in cameras. In the back, there's a 50MP shooter with center focus and a fixed focal length, whereas the front sports an 8MP sensor.
With the matte black and white 3.92-inch AMOLED display (1080x1240 pixels, 60Hz refresh rate), users will have to frame their shots in grayscale for that romantic and nostalgic feel. Right now, the company says that the only way to share your photos is to offload them onto another device. One cool touch is that the phone has a physical two-stage shutter button, meaning half-press to focus, and full-depress to snap the photo.
For some added future-proofing, the Light Phone III now has a fingerprint sensor plus 5G connectivity. The dimensions are significantly varied from the Phone II with the Phone III measuring 4.2 x 2.8 x 0.5 inches at 4.4 ounces, which are to cater to the new display (from e-ink) and larger 1,800 mAh battery, both of which are designed to be easily replaced by the user when needed. Take that, Fairphone!
The IP54-rated phone also has NFC, GPS, 4G/5G support, dual SIM (physical and nano), and Bluetooth 5.0. Oddly, for a back-to-basics phone, there's no headphone port; users can listen to their uploaded tracks through connected Bluetooth audio devices, the stereo speakers, or a USB-C headphone adapter.
Light says that all the tools on the phone are optionally installed and added functionality are in the works for the camera (in terms of the "exact user experience", image processing, and video call functionality), NFC payments, among others. With a January 2025 release on the horizon, the team has a few months to nail those details down.
The Light Phone III is expected to retail for $800, but is available now for $400 if you preorder (valid through July 15). That's a pretty big discount.
