Take Me Back

Days before the smartphone were simpler

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had a smart device/phone since 1999 with the Nokia 9000. It was invented before cell networks even had data/internet so it used a built in modem to dial up to your ISP over its cellular phone line and get an internet connection at 9600 baud. Amazing piece of technology far ahead of its times. It even had a web browser in black and white! I was trading stocks in high school from my cell phone in 1999.

Then came a lot of other interesting devices. I remember I was the first of my friends to have a phone with a camera. And it could do videos too. The concept of having a video camera in your pocket at all times was mind blowing. Blackberries were great devices for email, text and general work stuff. Then came the iPhone and the whole world changed. Our lives now seem centered around this device. We use it for everything from shopping to transportation to email to dating to pictures to….you get it.

The thing is, I miss being able to go off the grid. I miss being unreachable. I miss the days where I wasn't constantly getting notifications (although I turn off most). Slack is probably the worst offender and the bane of my existence. Ever since its invention, it’s been standard at every company I’ve been at that if the right person Slacks you, an immediate response is generally expected, at almost any time of day. I once woke up at 7am by a phone call from the CTO of the company I worked for because I didn’t respond to him fast enough on Slack.

So these days, I kind of don’t like my phone. Rather than it enabling me, I feel like it’s tethered me to it and it enables all sorts of intrusions into my life. I have an Apple Watch Ultra, but I never wear it because all it does is amplify the intrusion.

Fortunately, other people have the same feeling and some have done something about it. There’s a growing trend of “minimalist” phones. They frequently have a black and white screen, run Android, and have very limited capabilities on purpose.

The only problem is they are outside of Apple’s ecosystem and it’s basically impossible to switch between it and my regular phone on say a night out when I don’t want to be disturbed.

Which brings me to my request. Apple worked with carriers to do something very interesting with the Apple Watch. Technically, it has its own phone number, but it rings and you can use it to talk, even without your cell phone present, on the same number as your iPhone.

So what I want is a very minimal iPhone that also rings on the same number and lets me send iMessage. That's it. Maybe have Uber on it.

You can make it small and compact like a Motorola Razr. It’s your “I don’t want to be interrupted” device. The one you take when you want to leave work behind and enjoy the world.

I’d buy one in an instant. Spend good money on it too. The fact such minimal devices exist shows there is demand. One can only hope Apple would someday create such a device. Hopefully the right person is listening.