What you are looking at is a smartphone known as BoringPhone that has been designed, keeping in mind the digital habits of people all over the world. The basic idea is to make sure that users spend less time staring at a small screen that you can hold in your hand.
Simply put, BoringPhone is a simple Android mobile – the 5.5-inch Xiaomi Mi A1 – but comes with a custom-built software that has been loaded onto it. The software does offer a variety of the essential features of a smartphone while removing three of the largest distractions; the web, email, and social media.
There is no app store on the BoringPhone. You will have to make do with comes pre-loaded on the phone and that is it. The pre-installed apps feature a phone dialer, a messaging app (Signal), a camera, a mapping app, a podcast manager, a syncing tool for your contacts and calendars, and a music player. The phone will also feature a calculator, gallery app, a notepad tool, a clock, a torch, a voice recorder, and an FM radio app. All of these are free, open source or custom-built alternatives to the conventional apps that we enjoy from Google, Apple, and others.
The aim of BoringPhone is to make sure that you don’t get bombarded with notifications while getting distracted by Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, or Instagram. However, at the same time you get to enjoy features – camera, ability to play music and podcasts, and maps – that you won’t have access to on a phone that has basic features. The apps chosen by the makers of the BoringPhone, such as AntennaPod and OsmAnd, are not as refined as the more famously known alternatives, but they do get the job done quite perfectly.
Another benefit of using this phone is that you won’t have to worry about tech companies tracking every move that you make. There are some downsides, though; you won’t have instant access to your calendar or contacts. The phone features a Snapdragon 625 CPU, 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. It feels comfortable and light in hand.
As of right now, the makers of the BoringPhone are raising funds and have raised about three-quarters of the target amount; $13,440. If all goes well with the Kickstarter campaign, the shipping will commence in December.