Sidephone: First look at upcoming dumb phone's repurposed Android OS
The Sidephone got a lot of attention when it was first showcased back in April 2025. Since then, the company has been working towards the launch of the new device, and now, we have our first look at the OS demo - posted by u/sebastiansnell on the r/sidephone subreddit. In the 15-minute video, he explores various aspects of the upcoming "dumb" phone.
The video starts off with a showcase of Android running on the small 2.8-inch display. u/sebastiasnell moved the widgets around, showed off the quick setting tiles, and the default apps that'll be bundled with the Sidephone. These include the following:
- Camera
- Clock
- Contacts
- File explorer
- Gallery
- App Library
- Messaging
- Phone
- Settings
He then proceeded to open all the aforementioned apps and show how they appear on the small touchscreen display. Full functionality in the messaging app wasn't shown in the video due to privacy concerns - but Sebastian mentioned that messaging will support only SMS and MMS at launch - no RCS quite yet.
At timestamp 4:09, he exhibited how users can remap different buttons on the Sidephone, which comes with a swappable keyboard, by the way. You can map essential functions like play/pause/next to any button you want. However, please note that the first 1,000 phones will ship with a T9 style keypad, as stated by the company. A physical QWERTY keypad and MP3-style keypad option will be available for pre-order end of September onwards.
Using the App Library, you can sideload and update Sidephone apps, and access a full list of applications that work well with the device. Here, you'll be able to access the source code links, permissions, and other aspects of each app as well. Sebastian mentioned that a full list of available apps will be out in a couple of weeks from now. Furthermore, you can scan QR codes to add repositories to the Sidephone, if you're looking to extend the functionality of the device by installing apps such as GPS.
Lastly, he demoed the typing experience on the onscreen QWERTY keyboard, which involved a fair amount of autocorrect and predictive text - although that is to be expected from a small display. Sebastian added that the T9 keyboard on his unit is somewhat glitchy, so he didn't use the same for the demo.
In a past Reddit post, the company stated that pre-orders for the US will begin mid-August with the first batch of Sidephones stated to arrive in Fall 2025. Although there's no pre-order button on the website as of writing (August 27), it should be visible soon enough. Pre-orders for other regions will begin in Fall 2025 with first batches shipping early 2026.
