Tired of AI and Apple Intelligence? This privacy-focused minimalist phone now boasts an OLED screen

In a world of flashy smartphones and Apple Intelligence, Light stands out among the rest by focusing on minimalistic mobile devices. Their products don’t come with color screens, nor do they offer an internet connection. The company continues its mission of providing distraction-free phones to the masses with the new Light Phone III. It’s important to mention the brand doesn’t consider the Phone III as a direct replacement to the previous model. You can consider it another option for people who want a similar device but with more modern features.

The most impactful change with Phone III is the new 3.92-inch, black and white OLED display. Gone is the old E-Ink screen. Light co-founder Kaiwei Tang told TheVerge that  “almost 50 percent of [their] users couldn’t get used to it." It was apparently the cause of many people dropping their Light Phones, so an update was in order. 

Do note that the image quality won’t be super high, considering the resolution peaks at 1,080 x 1,230 pixels. The main draw here is that the OLED display “delivers significant improvements to performance.” The experience of scrolling through menus and apps will be much smoother. 

Light made the Phone III larger than previous models to accommodate the revamped screen, now measuring 106mm x 71.5 x 12mm. It’s not as tall as something like the iPhone 15, but it is as wide. Built into the side is a scroll wheel for adjusting the screen’s brightness on the fly and turning it until it clicks, turns on the flashlight.

New hardware

Speaking of the back, Light equipped their model with the series' first 50MP camera. It can shoot photos and videos just like a normal smartphone. Plus, you can send the images to others; however, it has a fixed focal length and “is limited to center-focus.” This means you can only make a few adjustments to the lens. 

Think of it as one of those old-school disposable cameras. It even sports a two-step shutter button near the bottom. Half-pressing the button focuses the lens, while a full press takes a picture.

The internal hardware also saw its fair share of updates. It runs on a Qualcomm SM 4450 chipset, 6GB of RAM, and a 1,800mAh battery. Light even admits to not knowing how long the Phone III lasts on a single charge. 

Even though it's double the size of the Phone II’s battery, the company states it is “too early for [them] to estimate any precise battery life." However, they are confident that the Phone III will last 24 hours before needing a recharge.

Other notable features include a fingerprint reader, a USB-C port (the Phone II has a micro USB port), GPS, and an NFC chip. According to TheVerge, the company plans on implementing digital payments down the line.

Pre-orders for the Light Phone III are available for a discounted $399 / AU$609. The lower price tag will only be valid until July 15 and after that, you’ll have to pay the full $799 / AU$1,218 price. Phone III is set to begin shipping in January 2025, so buyers will have to wait a while before they can their hands on the device.

Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best smartphones for 2024.

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