When Punkt released their Jasper-Morrison-designed “dumb phone,” above, it sold out instantly. The $295 MP 01 only did two things–make phone calls and send text messages–and in 2016 that was an attractive alternative for those seeking respite from smartphone addiction. Two years later, the phone is either still sold out or they’ve stopped manufacturing them; the “Buy” button on their website is greyed out.
Now another manufacturer, Japan’s Kyocera, is rolling out a minimalist phone. While not quite a “dumb” phone (in addition to phone functionality and text messages, there is a browser, calculator and calendar), their new KY-01L is extremely tiny and features a black-and-white ePaper display.
Kyocera KY-01L
Kyocera KY-01L
Kyocera KY-01L
Kyocera KY-01L
A credit card is about 86mm x 54mm, and the 47-gram KY-01L isn’t much larger, at just 91mm x 55mm (and a tad thicker at 5.3mm).
Kyocera KY-01L
Kyocera KY-01L
While Kyocera obviously can’t put photos of it next to an iPhone in their marketing materials, we can. So here are some side-by-sides, to give you an idea of how much less space the KY-01L takes up:
Sadly, Kyocera is planning to roll it out for the Japanese market only.