The 7 Best Flip Phones for Anybody Who Don't Want Smartphones
This may appear to be the only, and possibly even the finest, way to detach you or your youngsters from their smartphone addiction. In truth, you can exist today without a smartphone. You are able to stay in contact in our highly interconnected world using the simplicity of an unfamiliar “feature” flip phone.
The ‘clamshell’ phone, which has been available before AppleApple invented the iPhone, boasts a small, non-touch display and a distinct numerical keyboard. Unlike smartphones, flip phones lack seized access to a giant touch screen or a potent mobile device and, as such, are sometimes referred to as “dumb phones.”
Equally, cell phones’ tight touchpad-enabled keyboards enable them ill-suited to text messaging, which could be a good starting point to make your life easier and reduce the time you spend online. Every year, only a small number of new of these phones are introduced. Therefore, most of them are quite old.
However, the fundamental voice layer of cell technology has not changed much lately. New flip phones may have more sophisticated versions of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, for example. For these reasons, I don’t think a reconditioned flip device is a significant disadvantage since presumably what you want to do is converse with someone else over cellular waves. I researched and contrasted all the available flip phones models and identified the best choices based on performance, price, and compatibility and availability service provides.
Best Flip Phones
- Sonim XP3plus
- Alcatel Go Flip 4
- CAT S22 Flip
- Nokia 2780 Flip
- Kyocera DuraXA Extreme
- Motorola Razr 2023
- Lively Jitterbug Flip2
The Authority: I’ve spent nearly four decades. in consumer technology, writing about it, reporting on it, and studying how it works. I’ve always considered and explored electronic advancements, and I’ve been making suggestions based on my findings for just as long.
What to Look For in a Flip Phone
Compatibility
However, the most important consideration when considering the purchase of a flip phone is whether your device is, in fact, compatible with your wireless carrier. You can buy a flip phone from a carrier, but your choices will be limited. Most flip phones are available from the “post-paid” carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, who you pay after using their products, and not the prepaid carriers I mentioned earlier, referred to as “post-paid.”
Again, many more models are available as “unlocked” varieties – these are phones that you can use with any provider, even associated only with you. This is convenient if you decide to use a cell phone from another provider, or on the contrary, off for vacation: you can insert practically any other SIM card from the other carrier and use it for the phone.
Cost
Dumb flip phones are affordable because they are much less complex than their smarter smartphone counterparts. In fact, a dumb flip phone usually costs less than $100 – but that is if you are talking about a flip phone in the traditional sense. Make sure that you get what you pay for. If you get a “cheap” or sub-$50 or $100 phone, you get a cheap phone! The federal Lifeline Program reduce the monthly cost of a new device or your cellular phone bill for you or someone you love who is worried about the ability to afford one.
Connectivity
Also be sure that any flip phone you choose operates on a 4G LTE connection. AT&T and T-Mobile shut down their 3G networks in the spring of 2022, while Verizon turned off its 3G network at the end of 2022. Old cell phones designed to work on 3G or even older 2G networks won’t be able to receive any calls or texts—which also include 911. Here, every flip phone described operates on a 4G connection; no dumb phone works on a 5G network, a recent update that only modifies newer devices to improve data-to-voice communications. Most dumb phones have Wi-Fi, allowing for minimal internet connectivity or Wi-Fi calling, and Bluetooth for wireless head/earphone connectivity, as well as a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
Smart Features
This is because many among flip phones are incorrectly referred to as “dumb,” where they have color displays, and they run smart operating systems that have been around for longer defined by older versions of android or KaiOS, which is a mobile Linux operating system. As a result, you can get a flip phone that comes equipped with we browsers, music players, maps, messaging, calendar, and other basic apps that might be hard to navigate since they lack a touch screen and are hard to read since their 2.8-inch screens are small and come with low resolution.
How We Selected These Flip Phones
In terms of the battery, all of the flip phone models I recommended have strong battery life, expressed in talk time hours, and standby hours or days. Some of them also added Bluetooth, which means you can use wireless earbuds or headphones for music listening or conduct handsfree calling. None of the dumb phone takes stills or video rivaling that of smartphones, so I didn’t focus much on the camera’s capability. I picked unlocked models that have broad carrier compatibility, and most importantly, I considered the previous contribution to this article made by Brandon Carte. The flip phones outlined above are the best if you are looking for simplicity, privacy, craving a dose of nostalgia, or want a break from your smartphone.
