The Light Flip Is the Stylish Dumb Flip Phone of Your Dreams
The Light Flip Is the Stylish Dumb Flip Phone of Your Dreams
Light Flip：你梦寐以求的时尚“笨”翻盖手机
It turns out that the Light Phone III—the dumbphone with pretty hardware, like an all-metal build and a monochrome OLED touchscreen—is “too similar to a smartphone.” That’s one of the pieces of feedback that Brooklyn-based Light Phone has received in the past year since it launched the device, even if it doesn’t have access to anywhere near the number of apps your smartphone does. It’s why the company is now introducing the Light Flip—a dumb flip phone with no front screen that looks like a sleeker version of Motorola or Ericsson handsets from the late ’90s and early aughts.
事实证明，Light Phone III——这款拥有全金属机身和单色 OLED 触摸屏等精美硬件的“笨”手机（dumbphone），被用户认为“太像智能手机了”。这是总部位于布鲁克林的 Light Phone 公司在过去一年里收到的反馈之一，尽管该设备能使用的应用程序数量远不及智能手机。正因如此，该公司现在推出了 Light Flip——一款没有外屏的翻盖手机，看起来就像是 90 年代末和 21 世纪初摩托罗拉或爱立信手机的时尚升级版。
“They don’t want to be seen as using a smartphone,” says Kaiwei Tang, CEO and cofounder of Light Phone, talking about the more than two dozen Gen Z consumers the company interviewed. But the dumb flip phones currently on the market—made by manufacturers like HMD or TCL—don’t meet the bar. Tang says that many of the users he’s spoken with have had to replace their devices quite often because they break easily. Some who opt for older devices say that those devices aren’t certified to work on the major cell networks.
“他们不想被别人看作是在使用智能手机，”Light Phone 的首席执行官兼联合创始人 Kaiwei Tang 在谈到公司采访的二十多位 Z 世代消费者时说道。但目前市场上由 HMD 或 TCL 等制造商生产的“笨”翻盖手机并不达标。Tang 表示，他交谈过的许多用户不得不频繁更换设备，因为这些手机很容易损坏。一些选择老式设备的用户则表示，这些旧手机无法在主流蜂窝网络上获得认证。
“They describe their flip phone as ugly, stupid, no one is updating the software, some still have social media, no one is repairing the phone,” says Tang. “But they stick with it.” His cofounder, Joe Hollier, says these consumers know it’s frivolous, but they’re “just so anti–Big Tech.”
“他们形容自己的翻盖手机又丑又笨，没人更新软件，有的甚至还带有社交媒体，也没人维修，”Tang 说，“但他们还是坚持使用。”他的联合创始人 Joe Hollier 表示，这些消费者知道这看起来有些轻率，但他们“就是非常反感大型科技公司”。
The Light Flip is also designed to be more accessible to the masses. Light Phone says RAM shortages are forcing it to raise the price of the Light Phone III from $699 to $899. (The device already saw price increases last year due to tariffs.) The Light Flip, on the other hand, costs $299. It ships in April of 2027, and you can reserve a unit now.
Light Flip 的设计也旨在让大众更容易接受。Light Phone 表示，由于内存（RAM）短缺，他们不得不将 Light Phone III 的价格从 699 美元提高到 899 美元（该设备去年已因关税问题涨过价）。相比之下，Light Flip 的售价为 299 美元。它将于 2027 年 4 月发货，目前已开放预订。
The company is introducing a 24-month contract option that lets you buy the Flip for $39 per month, which includes a service plan powered by AT&T and T-Mobile’s network with 1 GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. (Yes, that means Light Phone is also a mobile virtual network operator in the US, Canada, and the UK.) There’s also a plan for the Light Phone III at $59 per month for anyone who can’t stomach the near-$1,000 price.
该公司还推出了 24 个月的合约选项，让你能以每月 39 美元的价格购买 Flip，其中包括由 AT&T 和 T-Mobile 网络支持的服务套餐，包含 1GB 数据流量以及无限通话和短信。（没错，这意味着 Light Phone 同时也是美国、加拿大和英国的移动虚拟网络运营商。）对于无法接受近 1000 美元售价的用户，也有每月 59 美元的 Light Phone III 套餐可供选择。
“I think people are just so accustomed to the subscription model when it comes to cell phones that we at least have to offer it,” Hollier says.
“我认为人们已经非常习惯手机的订阅模式了，所以我们至少得提供这种选择，”Hollier 说。
The Light Flip doesn’t have a touchscreen; instead, users have to rely on a D-pad, three function keys, a confirm and cancel button, and old-school T9 typing with predictive text. All the “tools” from the Light Phone III—what Light Phone calls its apps on its LightOS platform—will work when the Light Flip launches next year.
Light Flip 没有触摸屏；相反，用户必须依赖方向键（D-pad）、三个功能键、确认和取消按钮，以及带有预测文本的老式 T9 输入法。Light Phone III 上的所有“工具”（Light Phone 将其 LightOS 平台上的应用程序称为“工具”）在明年 Light Flip 发布时都将可以使用。
It’s a pretty limited set, with tools like Phone, Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, and Directions. However, in May, the company announced a software development kit that enables third-party developers to create new tools for the platform, expanding the possibilities. These may need tweaks to perform just as well on the Light Flip.
这些工具非常有限，包括电话、闹钟、计算器、日历和导航。不过，该公司在 5 月份宣布推出了一款软件开发工具包（SDK），使第三方开发者能够为该平台创建新工具，从而扩展了可能性。这些工具可能需要进行调整，才能在 Light Flip 上达到同样出色的表现。
There’s USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G connectivity, Nano SIM and eSIM support, even a headphone jack, a perk missing on the pricier Light Phone III. (There is no NFC.) On the front, the lack of a screen keeps up with the distraction-free ethos—it’s just a notification LED that flashes when new alerts come through. There’s a 12-MP camera on the back, and a replaceable 1,800-mAh battery. Flip it open and there’s a 2.8-inch OLED display, stereo speakers, and two microphones.
它配备了 USB-C 接口、蓝牙、Wi-Fi、5G 连接、Nano SIM 和 eSIM 支持，甚至还有一个耳机插孔——这是价格更高的 Light Phone III 所缺失的功能。（没有 NFC。）机身正面没有屏幕，这符合其“无干扰”的理念——只有一个在收到新提醒时会闪烁的通知 LED 灯。背面配有一颗 1200 万像素的摄像头和一块可更换的 1800mAh 电池。翻开手机，可以看到一块 2.8 英寸的 OLED 显示屏、立体声扬声器和两个麦克风。
The whole device is plastic, unlike its all-metal sibling, which helps keep the cost down. That also allows the company to offer it in six colors: black, navy, red, pink, yellow, and light gray. It’s IP54 water- and dust-resistant.
与全金属材质的“兄弟”机型不同，整机采用塑料材质，这有助于降低成本。这也使得该公司能提供六种颜色选择：黑色、海军蓝、红色、粉色、黄色和浅灰色。它具备 IP54 级防水防尘能力。
Tang points to the recent Summer of Ludd festival that took place in New York City, where he and other Light Phone members were present as participants. Event-goers booed people who pulled out their smartphones to record video.
Tang 提到了最近在纽约市举办的“卢德之夏”（Summer of Ludd）节日，他和 Light Phone 的其他成员作为参与者出席了活动。活动参与者会对那些掏出智能手机录像的人发出嘘声。
“The sentiment of pushing back on smartphones is so strong; they don’t like AI,” he says. “They want these different form factors that make them feel proud or completely separated from smartphone app stores. It makes us feel encouraged that this is exactly what we’ve wanted to do for 10 years, and now it’s getting bigger and bigger and younger and younger.” It’s no accident that Light Phone’s new flippy handset is being announced a day before Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, where the mobile giant is expected to debut its latest folding smartphones.
“抵制智能手机的情绪非常强烈；他们不喜欢人工智能，”他说，“他们想要这些不同的外形设计，让他们感到自豪，或者能与智能手机应用商店完全隔绝。这让我们感到备受鼓舞，因为这正是我们十年来一直想做的事情，而且现在这种趋势正变得越来越大，受众也越来越年轻。”Light Phone 的新款翻盖手机在三星 Galaxy Unpacked 发布会前一天宣布并非巧合，届时这家移动巨头预计将发布其最新的折叠屏手机。
Just a month ago, retro gaming brand Commodore announced the Callback 8020, its own version of a smart flip phone resembling an old-school Nokia. The company is channeling the same digital well-being mentality as Light Phone, except Commodore’s device runs an operating system that can still download modern-day Android apps. The catch is that social media apps and browsers are blocked; strictly utilitarian apps are available, like Spotify, Uber, and Google Maps. It costs $399 and will ship later this year.
就在一个月前，复古游戏品牌 Commodore 发布了 Callback 8020，这是他们自己版本的智能翻盖手机，外观酷似老式诺基亚。该公司传达了与 Light Phone 相同的数字健康理念，不同之处在于 Commodore 的设备运行的操作系统仍然可以下载现代 Android 应用程序。其限制在于社交媒体应用和浏览器被屏蔽；仅提供严格的实用型应用程序，如 Spotify、Uber 和 Google 地图。该机售价 399 美元，将于今年晚些时候发货。
Tang and Hollier were happy to see Commodore’s new handset. “They took a different approach to us by doubling down on the retro side, and I think that’s awesome,” Hollier says. “We’ve always said we want more options for people, and the more normalized non-smartphones become, the easier it will be for everyone to make a transition.”
Tang 和 Hollier 对看到 Commodore 的新手机感到高兴。“他们采取了与我们不同的策略，在复古路线上加倍投入，我认为这很棒，”Hollier 说，“我们一直说我们希望为人们提供更多选择，非智能手机越普及，每个人进行过渡就会越容易。”