Heineken is the latest company attempting to take us back to a time before the smartphone. The beer-maker, in collaboration with fashion brand Bodega and device-maker HMD, is launching the Boring Phone, a transparent flip phone designed primarily for making calls and sending text messages — just like in the old days.
Based on Heineken’s press release, it’s unclear exactly what the phone can and can’t do (some modern flip phones can download versions of smartphone apps). But it does say the phone “is unable to download social media or other apps that take away from being present.” The phone will debut at Milan Design Week on April 18, and an app for modern smartphones that makes them “boring” is also slated for a June launch.
The Boring Phone is the latest effort to capitalize on two trends that have been in the spotlight recently: vintage tech and “digital detoxing,” a term used to describe disconnecting or scaling back from smartphones and technology. At Mobile World Congress in February, for example, HMD, which makes Nokia-branded phones, also teamed up with Mattel on a Barbie-inspired flip phone, a nostalgia-baiting product that hearkened back to simpler days.
So far, it seems like HMD’s commitment to flip phones has been paying off. Sales of HMD phones with basic call and texting functionality increased in 2022, according to Euronews, showing that there is demand for simpler devices. The Light Phone, a tiny, minimalist device that lacks modern features like a web browser, email, camera and social media, also helped bring so-called “dumb phones” into the spotlight in recent years.
The Boring Phone is brimming with nostalgia, from its transparent design to its simplistic keypad and classic green screen. If you grew up in the 1990s and 2000s, this flip phone may bring back memories of the Atomic Purple Gameboy Color or vintage iMacs. It should last for a week in standby mode on a single charge and provides 20 hours of talk time, according to the press release.
While it’s undoubtedly a marketing ploy, the Boring Phone’s launch also comes as there has been more attention paid to the effects of excessive screen time and social media. A report from Reviews.org, for example, found that Americans check their phones 144 times per day, and 60% sleep with their phones at night.
