**A Deeper Look at the Light Phone 2: A Minimalist Smartphone Experience**

As I embarked on using the Light Phone 2, I was eager to experience a more streamlined and present-oriented approach to mobile communication. The phone's design and primary features did not disappoint, offering an intuitive and user-friendly interface that quickly became my go-to for everyday conversations.

One of the standout features of the Light Phone 2 is its calling capabilities. With a focus on simplicity and ease of use, I found that making calls was straightforward and effortless. The phone's voice to text option proved to be particularly useful, allowing me to send messages with speed and accuracy. However, I did encounter some teething issues, including a texting glitch that left me wondering if I had missed new messages.

Fortunately, the Light Phone 2 is not immune to updates and improvements. In my experience, LTE and hotspot tethering work seamlessly when connected to my laptop's network, allowing me to watch videos with ease and stream music without interruption. The phone's audio capabilities are also noteworthy, with a generous one-gigabyte storage space that allows for an entire week's worth of music. I enjoyed the focused listening experience, which made me more intentional in selecting music and ultimately allowed me to appreciate it more.

The Light Phone 2's search function is another notable feature, making it easy to find specific artists and songs within my playlist. New podcast episodes also automatically import once a series is selected from the dashboard, as long as the device is connected to Wi-Fi or LTE. Bluetooth capabilities are also well-implemented, allowing me to stream music through my AirPods or Beats with ease.

However, one area where the Light Phone 2 fell short was in its battery life. With regular usage, I found myself needing to recharge the phone only once or twice a day. This can be a challenge for those who are accustomed to longer battery life or have more data-intensive habits. Nonetheless, this is an issue that can be mitigated with proper care and management of the phone's power consumption.

Other features of the Light Phone 2 include a calculator that works well and an alarm system that proved effective in waking me up. However, I did experience some initial difficulties with the latter, particularly since it only allows for setting one alarm at a time. After some experimentation, I found that selecting a high-pitched sound made it more effective, allowing me to wake up on time.

**The Verdict: A New Perspective on Mobile Communication**

While the Light Phone 2 may not offer all the bells and whistles of traditional smartphones, its minimalist approach to mobile communication has inspired me to consider alternative habits and approaches. As someone who works in social media, I need access to various apps and features that are integral to my job. However, this challenge has also made me realize the potential benefits of having a more streamlined and present-oriented approach to technology.

For those considering the Light Phone 2 as their primary phone or secondary device, I would recommend giving it a try. Its user-friendly interface and focus on simplicity make it an excellent choice for those who want to minimize distractions and maximize productivity. Whether you're looking to transition away from your smartphone altogether or simply seek a more balanced approach to mobile communication, the Light Phone 2 is definitely worth exploring.

**A Note on Accessibility and Work Requirements**

As someone who relies on social media for work, I must acknowledge that the Light Phone 2's limitations may be a challenge in certain situations. While it offers some alternative features, such as two-factor authentication via text message or app-based authentication, these solutions may not meet the specific requirements of all workplaces.

In my experience, this is particularly true for those who require more advanced security measures to authenticate their identity. However, I believe that this issue can be mitigated with proper planning and preparation. By exploring alternative authentication methods or developing new habits around mobile communication, individuals can minimize the impact of these limitations and still enjoy the benefits of the Light Phone 2.

Ultimately, the Light Phone 2 has opened my eyes to a more mindful approach to technology, encouraging me to prioritize simplicity and presence in my daily life. Whether you're considering this phone as your primary device or simply seeking inspiration for how to use your smartphone more intentionally, I believe that it is definitely worth exploring further.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmeet the light phone 2 a cell phone that purposely lacks features like a camera and internet browser because in an ever online world it's been uniquely created to be used as infrequently as possible as a smartphone fatigued gal myself i was immediately intrigued by this product and knew i had to try it so i ditched my iphone for a week and used the light bone too instead and spoiler alert i really enjoyed it now you may be wondering if this phone's so simple what can it do well upon first use it can of course call in text and can also be used as a hotspot and an alarm tools for music podcasts and navigation as well as a calculator can be added too and more features like a voice memo tool are anticipated to come in the near future it also has a headphone jack and bluetooth capability and an electronic paper or e-ink screen that you may recognize from e-readers as for service depending on where you live you'll either want the north american or international version of the phone for optimal coverage it comes unlocked and has 4g lte connectivity and while it's compatible with select carriers depending on location light also offers its own service plans and sim cards to us users since this phone isn't compatible with my smartphone carrier xfinity mobile i opted for the unlimited light service plan my journey with the light phone 2 officially began with a good old unboxing here it is the phone comes in two colors black and light gray which is the color i got peeling off plastic then we also have a charging cable and the sim pin then after inserting the sim card i turned on and updated the phone for the first time greetings welcome to your light phone next i made a light account to access the dashboard a site that allows users to import additional tools contacts and up to one gigabyte of audio files onto the phone once the files are uploaded to the dashboard they're supposed to appear on the phone quickly as long as it's connected to wi-fi or lte while i'm not used to having to manage these things from a website the dashboard is very easy to use and once my files were uploaded there they showed up on the phone in minutes so beyond setup what's it like to use the light phone too on a daily basis are the features any good well for the most part yes but more on this later because unlike the majority of cell phones the most remarkable part of my experience with this product wasn't the features it has but the ones it doesn't so let's break it down this phone doesn't have social media email news and internet browser ads or camera my vlogging camera quickly became my best friend as it filled in for me not having one on my phone and i happily did without mobile access to news email or internet because with so many heavy headlines it felt nice to be able to choose when i wanted to get informed throughout my day rather than constantly receiving notifications but earlier in the week there were moments when i missed mobile social media access like when i was watching my neighbors very cute kittens i'm with two adorable cats right now very instagram worldly moments so it's day two of using the light phone day one of using it exclusively and the urge to post on social media is still there you guys don't even know what a phone is huh this is your primary foremost of entertainment but after a few days the urge to post on social media subsided as i quite simply just got comfortable with using my phone less which is the whole point of this product and i loved how much more present i became as a result i actually looked at my surroundings during my daily walks instead of staring down at my phone what a concept i felt so much more engaged in conversations with friends and family and when it was time to go to bed i actually just went to sleep instead of scrolling on tick-tock for hours long story short i just felt more present in general than i had in years from that point on the only time not having social media apps on my phone stuck out to me is when those around me were checking them and i didn't have anything else to do but not because i actually missed them okay so i'm currently waiting for takeout and i wanted to document this moment because i am a little bored right now without my smartphone i feel so lonely without my iphone really i should just be present it's a healthy thing to not be on your phone all the time that's a good insight i'm i'm inspiring some people this week all right now that we've gone over what this phone doesn't have let's go back to what it does have because that's important too making calls on this phone is generally pretty smooth for the most part i can clearly hear callers and they can clearly hear me how do i sound to you you sound good awesome and the calling interface is straightforward i can place a call by searching for a contact or locating them in my recent history and the call buttons are intuitive the only feature i never quite adjusted to is texting and this is due in part to the phone's e-ink display this type of screen has some distinct features it doesn't radiate blue light and it can be read outside because it doesn't create a glare which are two things i love but aside from those characteristics the e-ink display is also less responsive than a smartphone screen meaning typing takes longer i was never able to quite get used to this slower typing pace because this in combination with the lack of copy and paste and autocorrect options made texting in large volumes pretty time consuming that being said i did test this phone during the holidays which is a time when i was sending and receiving more text than normal so i probably noticed this screen lag a little more than i would have during a regular week and the phone's voice to text option is very accurate can i call you that was pretty good so this does help speed up texting i also ran into a texting glitch the first day i used the phone where i heard a ping as if i received a new message but when i checked the phone i had no new texts but light told me users periodically experienced this glitch and i likely wasn't missing messages this device doesn't show images received via text and while this gave me some initial fomo i no longer felt this way once i realized i can allow these images to be forwarded to my email account while this device can't send emojis it can receive them but they probably look different than you're used to this wasn't a big deal to me but it may be to you if you particularly enjoy communicating through emojis all right now that we've gone over the phone's primary functions calling and texting let's go over how everything else worked while this depends on location in my experience lte and hotspot tethering works seamlessly when i connect my laptop to my personal light hotspot network i'm able to watch videos just as easily as when i'm connected to wi-fi and this phone's lte works well for quickly applying updates importing files from the dashboard and accessing directions speaking of directions this tool also gets a thumbs up for me while it was a little hard to hear the voice command over the songs i was listening to at times it was manageable and in the end this tool got me to a destination i'd never been to before and going back to songs i also really enjoyed the music experience on this phone one gigabyte of audio space is enough to store a week's worth of music and i really liked the focused listening that came with not having a seemingly endless music library at my fingertips it made me more intentional when selecting music for the device and more present while i was listening to the songs since i knew they were all i had i listened more closely and as a result enjoyed the music more the songs appear in one playlist but the search bar makes it easy to find specific artists and songs and new podcast episodes automatically import once a series is selected from the dashboard as long as the device is connected to wi-fi or lte if i wasn't listening to music through my car's aux cord i was using bluetooth to listen to it through my airpods or beats i found that this phone's bluetooth capability works well as long as your wireless listening devices have a pretty full charge and continuing with charging let's talk battery life with regular usage i was getting one to two days before i had to charge the phone but if i did something more data intensive like importing files from the dashboard on lte i'd have to plug it in twice a day as for remaining features the calculator worked well and finally let's talk about the alarm this feature worked for me in the long run but did take some getting used to i am coming at you all today a little later than expected because i slept through my alarm as a person who relies on multiple alarms the fact that this device only allows you to set one at a time definitely threw me off at first and the first alarm sound that i selected was pretty calm so i changed it okay i think the high pitch makes that one a good candidate and it was a success i'm very happy to report that i did wake up to my light phone two alarm today the day is off to a good start so overall i really enjoyed using this phone features it does have generally work well and the ones it doesn't have allow me to live in the present in a way i'm just not able to when using my smartphone it currently retails for 299 which is still a pretty penny but a lot less expensive than my iphone so with all that said could i see this being my primary phone almost while i enjoyed my experience with the light phone too since i work in social media shameless plug to check out our cnet social media accounts i need to have some contact with social media apps to be able to stay up to date on trends and ultimately do my job and while the two-factor authentication required by my job can be in the form of a text message some workplaces require using a smartphone app to authenticate your identity so that may be a deal breaker for you so while it isn't feasible for me to exclusively use the light phone 2 at this point this challenge did inspire me to consider transitioning to using the light phone 2 as my primary phone and my smartphone as a secondary phone or at the very least change my habits surrounding how i interact with my smartphone what do you think of the light phone too would you ever use it as your primary phone maybe a secondary phone are you interested in trying it let me know in the comments below and like and subscribe for more tech reviews and news from cnetmeet the light phone 2 a cell phone that purposely lacks features like a camera and internet browser because in an ever online world it's been uniquely created to be used as infrequently as possible as a smartphone fatigued gal myself i was immediately intrigued by this product and knew i had to try it so i ditched my iphone for a week and used the light bone too instead and spoiler alert i really enjoyed it now you may be wondering if this phone's so simple what can it do well upon first use it can of course call in text and can also be used as a hotspot and an alarm tools for music podcasts and navigation as well as a calculator can be added too and more features like a voice memo tool are anticipated to come in the near future it also has a headphone jack and bluetooth capability and an electronic paper or e-ink screen that you may recognize from e-readers as for service depending on where you live you'll either want the north american or international version of the phone for optimal coverage it comes unlocked and has 4g lte connectivity and while it's compatible with select carriers depending on location light also offers its own service plans and sim cards to us users since this phone isn't compatible with my smartphone carrier xfinity mobile i opted for the unlimited light service plan my journey with the light phone 2 officially began with a good old unboxing here it is the phone comes in two colors black and light gray which is the color i got peeling off plastic then we also have a charging cable and the sim pin then after inserting the sim card i turned on and updated the phone for the first time greetings welcome to your light phone next i made a light account to access the dashboard a site that allows users to import additional tools contacts and up to one gigabyte of audio files onto the phone once the files are uploaded to the dashboard they're supposed to appear on the phone quickly as long as it's connected to wi-fi or lte while i'm not used to having to manage these things from a website the dashboard is very easy to use and once my files were uploaded there they showed up on the phone in minutes so beyond setup what's it like to use the light phone too on a daily basis are the features any good well for the most part yes but more on this later because unlike the majority of cell phones the most remarkable part of my experience with this product wasn't the features it has but the ones it doesn't so let's break it down this phone doesn't have social media email news and internet browser ads or camera my vlogging camera quickly became my best friend as it filled in for me not having one on my phone and i happily did without mobile access to news email or internet because with so many heavy headlines it felt nice to be able to choose when i wanted to get informed throughout my day rather than constantly receiving notifications but earlier in the week there were moments when i missed mobile social media access like when i was watching my neighbors very cute kittens i'm with two adorable cats right now very instagram worldly moments so it's day two of using the light phone day one of using it exclusively and the urge to post on social media is still there you guys don't even know what a phone is huh this is your primary foremost of entertainment but after a few days the urge to post on social media subsided as i quite simply just got comfortable with using my phone less which is the whole point of this product and i loved how much more present i became as a result i actually looked at my surroundings during my daily walks instead of staring down at my phone what a concept i felt so much more engaged in conversations with friends and family and when it was time to go to bed i actually just went to sleep instead of scrolling on tick-tock for hours long story short i just felt more present in general than i had in years from that point on the only time not having social media apps on my phone stuck out to me is when those around me were checking them and i didn't have anything else to do but not because i actually missed them okay so i'm currently waiting for takeout and i wanted to document this moment because i am a little bored right now without my smartphone i feel so lonely without my iphone really i should just be present it's a healthy thing to not be on your phone all the time that's a good insight i'm i'm inspiring some people this week all right now that we've gone over what this phone doesn't have let's go back to what it does have because that's important too making calls on this phone is generally pretty smooth for the most part i can clearly hear callers and they can clearly hear me how do i sound to you you sound good awesome and the calling interface is straightforward i can place a call by searching for a contact or locating them in my recent history and the call buttons are intuitive the only feature i never quite adjusted to is texting and this is due in part to the phone's e-ink display this type of screen has some distinct features it doesn't radiate blue light and it can be read outside because it doesn't create a glare which are two things i love but aside from those characteristics the e-ink display is also less responsive than a smartphone screen meaning typing takes longer i was never able to quite get used to this slower typing pace because this in combination with the lack of copy and paste and autocorrect options made texting in large volumes pretty time consuming that being said i did test this phone during the holidays which is a time when i was sending and receiving more text than normal so i probably noticed this screen lag a little more than i would have during a regular week and the phone's voice to text option is very accurate can i call you that was pretty good so this does help speed up texting i also ran into a texting glitch the first day i used the phone where i heard a ping as if i received a new message but when i checked the phone i had no new texts but light told me users periodically experienced this glitch and i likely wasn't missing messages this device doesn't show images received via text and while this gave me some initial fomo i no longer felt this way once i realized i can allow these images to be forwarded to my email account while this device can't send emojis it can receive them but they probably look different than you're used to this wasn't a big deal to me but it may be to you if you particularly enjoy communicating through emojis all right now that we've gone over the phone's primary functions calling and texting let's go over how everything else worked while this depends on location in my experience lte and hotspot tethering works seamlessly when i connect my laptop to my personal light hotspot network i'm able to watch videos just as easily as when i'm connected to wi-fi and this phone's lte works well for quickly applying updates importing files from the dashboard and accessing directions speaking of directions this tool also gets a thumbs up for me while it was a little hard to hear the voice command over the songs i was listening to at times it was manageable and in the end this tool got me to a destination i'd never been to before and going back to songs i also really enjoyed the music experience on this phone one gigabyte of audio space is enough to store a week's worth of music and i really liked the focused listening that came with not having a seemingly endless music library at my fingertips it made me more intentional when selecting music for the device and more present while i was listening to the songs since i knew they were all i had i listened more closely and as a result enjoyed the music more the songs appear in one playlist but the search bar makes it easy to find specific artists and songs and new podcast episodes automatically import once a series is selected from the dashboard as long as the device is connected to wi-fi or lte if i wasn't listening to music through my car's aux cord i was using bluetooth to listen to it through my airpods or beats i found that this phone's bluetooth capability works well as long as your wireless listening devices have a pretty full charge and continuing with charging let's talk battery life with regular usage i was getting one to two days before i had to charge the phone but if i did something more data intensive like importing files from the dashboard on lte i'd have to plug it in twice a day as for remaining features the calculator worked well and finally let's talk about the alarm this feature worked for me in the long run but did take some getting used to i am coming at you all today a little later than expected because i slept through my alarm as a person who relies on multiple alarms the fact that this device only allows you to set one at a time definitely threw me off at first and the first alarm sound that i selected was pretty calm so i changed it okay i think the high pitch makes that one a good candidate and it was a success i'm very happy to report that i did wake up to my light phone two alarm today the day is off to a good start so overall i really enjoyed using this phone features it does have generally work well and the ones it doesn't have allow me to live in the present in a way i'm just not able to when using my smartphone it currently retails for 299 which is still a pretty penny but a lot less expensive than my iphone so with all that said could i see this being my primary phone almost while i enjoyed my experience with the light phone too since i work in social media shameless plug to check out our cnet social media accounts i need to have some contact with social media apps to be able to stay up to date on trends and ultimately do my job and while the two-factor authentication required by my job can be in the form of a text message some workplaces require using a smartphone app to authenticate your identity so that may be a deal breaker for you so while it isn't feasible for me to exclusively use the light phone 2 at this point this challenge did inspire me to consider transitioning to using the light phone 2 as my primary phone and my smartphone as a secondary phone or at the very least change my habits surrounding how i interact with my smartphone what do you think of the light phone too would you ever use it as your primary phone maybe a secondary phone are you interested in trying it let me know in the comments below and like and subscribe for more tech reviews and news from cnet\n"