Light Phone 2 brings messaging to the anti-smartphone

You may not have heard of Light or the Light Phone: The first-generation phone appeared on Kickstarter in 2015 and managed to raise US$415,127 in pledges for the project. The Light Phone was designed to offer basic telephony functions in an extremely slim form (4 mm thick), and it cost just US$100. Other features of the light, matte-white phone included up to 20 days of standby battery power, MicroUSB connectivity and a dot-matrix display. The Light Phone was aimed at people who wanted a device that just made or received phone calls.

Now an announcement of the Light Phone 2 has surfaced, and this second-generation phone is offering a multitude of improvements over its predecessor. Along with the aforementioned ability to send and receive text messages, the new phone may feature an alarm clock, contacts storage and an auto-reply function. As the device is still in the prototype stage, the designers are also exploring additional options such as a ride-sharing partnership, a playlist, voice command, and even a calculator.

Proposed specifications for the Light Phone 2 include 1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage, a Qualcomm MSM8909W processor and a 500-mAh battery. The launch price of the device is expected to be US$400, and it should start shipping in April 2019. Early backers of the Indiegogo campaign can get the Light Phone 2 at a discounted price of US$250 (plus shipping) if they pledge that amount.

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