Gedanken-phone, the missing link between dumb and smart phones

The Light Phone III arrival on the market is just around the corner [1], and already something is off. How dare The Light Phone, Inc. disregard obvious aspects that all early reviews pointed out? AI promises not aligned with the needs of the people looking for dumber phones; cameras that do not replace mid-range smartphone cameras for quality; without Signal or WhatsApp or other video chat app support; no e-paper-like screen à-la TCL Nexpaper; etc.

Hopefully Light Phone III will sell a hotcakes, but there is a more basic reason why customers will always need a primary smartphone or other dedicated devices.
Dedicated devices like cameras or music players or e-readers will not be replaced by the Light Phone, and the same applies to smartphones, so why should anyone spend hundreds on a new device that promises to reduce your reliance on tech, but still forces you to bring along other gadgets? The segments of population appreciating those distraction free gadgets overlap, and the moment you force them to still bring them along, your concept results flawed.

The noble scope and high price of $799 $399 (pre-order), make one wonder if a better solution can exist. Not by muddying the waters with some jargon to market an inferior new monitor technology al the Daylight DC1 [2], but offering a real replacement to smartphones and the other dedicated gadgets, that keeps all the best and refutes all the worst. Namely, no time sucking social stuff and games, no bloatware, quality build and full modern experience without its brain rotting worms. How to replace most of dedicated and create something with the flexibility of a smartphone, but devoid of time sucking hogs?

Half-baked MVP solutions only work in the mind of people that don't really want to try to innovate. Let's make a Gedankenexperiment [3]! Let's conceive a smartphone-like device that integrates high-quality tech usually found in dedicated gadgets. It will still have compromises, but let's put together the best of portable phones, ebook readers, music players, point and shoot cameras and, why not, portable batteries. Please, OEMs, do not look further than this list to create your next model and, how knows, the Gedanken-phone may become reality.

Basic Communication

• Signal: While someone will still rely on SMS or simple calling, Signal is the default, secure communication app for rich messages, voice and video calls.
• Calling and Texting: Legacy voice calls, plus SMS capabilities with RCS support.
• Microphone: arrays of four microphones for multi-directional, spatial audio capture at 24bit / 192KHz with high AOP up to 132dB. Integrated computational, adjustable wind and noise canceling.

Internals

• Long-lasting Battery: The solid-state battery capacity of 7000 mAh lasts for 3 full days of typical use. Not having bloatware and without pervasive tracking, tech can make miracles.
• Fast Charging: Support for 90W wired charging and 45W wireless charging to ensure quick top-ups. While for some it's a gimmick that never gets used, for many the wireless charging is a must to merge minimalism with convenience.
• Charger: No charger is included in the box.
• User-replaceable Battery: Easy to replace, to extend the device's lifespan. Without compromising the water resistance.
• RAM and Storage: The Gedanken-phone comes with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, ensuring smooth multitasking and app performance. It offers a single storage option of 256GB UFS 4.0, providing ample space for essential apps, media, and files without encouraging excessive digital hoarding.
• Processor: Powered by the rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon 8x Gen 4 SoC, built on a 3nm process, the phone can achieve sustained performance and efficiency over raw speed, allowing to use computational photography and video editing, as well as completely smooth UI animations and responsive behavior for productivity in desktop mode even on high resolution widescreens.

Connectivity and Ports

• USB-C Port: Reversible charging and data transfer port, and supports USB 4 and DP Alt Mode for video out at 4k 120HZ.
• Cable: Two braded USB-C to USB-C cables are included in the box. They support both Power Delivery and USB 4 specifications with Thunderbolt 3 interoperability.
• 5G Support: Future-proofing with the latest network technology.
• GPS et al.: Can use high-precision location services thanks to compatibility with GPS, Galileo, BDS, GLONASS, IRNSS, and QZSS [5].
• Bluetooth 5.4: For enhanced, low-energy consumption, high-resolution audio quality and stability, supporting codecs like aptX HD, LDAC, and LC3. Bi-directional connection for wireless headset. Also, supports for Bluetooth microphones.
• NFC: For contactless payments and other uses like headphones pairing.
• Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot: Integrated transmits in dual-band transmitter with 4x4 MIMO support for multiple devices.
• Hi-Res Jack: 3.5mm jack for wired headphones, coupled with a high-quality DAC by FiiO for superior audio quality.
• Physical Buttons: For essential functions like volume control and power. But also a programmable button that acts as a two-step camera shutter when in the camera app.

Screen

• Coated Tandem-OLED Display: The Gedankenphone offers great readability, fast refresh rates and responsiveness, thanks to a tandem-OLED screen by TLC. It reaches 2000 nits of peak brightness for practical outdoor reading. Its infinite contrast ratio and anti-reflective coating enables for an e-paper-like feeling and 180° viewing angles without color distortion. Still, offers VRR with refresh rates varying from 1Hz to a smooth 120Hz, balancing usability and battery life.
• Comfortable Size: The grip and weight both depend on the size of the screen. At 6.3 inches, it improves usability without compromising portability, with a 18:9 aspect ratio that's a soft spot for reading and not stretching your fingers too much. Ah, it is flat.

Build

• Durability by design: MIL-STD-810H compliant, with aluminum frame . This allows to increase resistance to falls and for effective wireless charging. While the back is completely flat without camera bumps, its high-quality plastic and leather back form a zoned design reminiscent of a reflex camera. Grip is grip.
• Dimensions: The flat screen measures 143 mm x 72 mm, with minimal 1mm lateral bezels. But at the top and bottom it sports front facing speakers grill. Accounting for its 1mm metal frame all around, the overall size of the Gedankenphone is 147 mm x 74 mm x 8.2 mm. At 188 grams, it achieves a good balance between durability and portability.
• Glass is glass: ... and glass breaks, so the front screen needs to be both the toughest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 or better, and, should it fail, easily replaceable.
• Water and Dust Resistance: At least IP68 rating for everyday protection.
• Front facing speakers: Quad speakers pump sound where it counts, and how it counts. It can easily replace a mid-range Bluetooth speaker for loudness and clarity, and with the added benefit of directing the sounds towards the user.
• Fingerprint Sensor: For secure and convenient unlocking. It is positioned at the back, for easy accessibility for both right handed and left handed people, and to avoid those annoying false touches when on the side. Also, not being under the screen, improves the reparability.

Minimalist OS

• GedankenOS: A stripped-down version of GrapheneOS [4], the GedankenOS enables the distraction-free experience, which is also privacy and security-focused. It offers substantial improvements to sandboxing, exploit mitigations, and the permission model. GedankenOS is completely open-source.
• Simple UI: Clean, text-based interface with clear typography and intuitive navigation. This can be switched to icon-based, but with no special coloring for apps can be used. Simplified apps versions will be automatically preferred wherever available.
• Customizable Menu: User-defined apps and shortcuts ensure the essential and desired functions. Per each category, you can pick your app of choice among the best and most used ones, and only the ones you pick are downloaded. This will reduce bloatware and increase software optimization.
• Unlocked: You can always suggest other apps that will be assessed following open criteria. And if you want more freedom, even at the cost of losing your distraction free experience, feel free to easily unlock the phone installer in the settings, and install all APKs or ROM you want.
• Upgrades: the stripped-down, open-source nature of GedankenOS make it easy to maintain, and the phone will receive 5 or more official, yearly OS upgrades, and 7 years of security patches. Being open-source, unofficial updates can still be a thing, although without any central approval.

Security

• Common VPN Protocols: Support for OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2/IPSec, and L2TP/IPSec to ensure secure internet connections.
• Common 2FA Apps: Support for popular 2FA apps like Aegis, Google Authenticator, or Authy to enhance account security.
• Password Manager: Integration with popular password managers like Bitwarden, 1Password, and Dashlane for secure and convenient password management.

Camera

• High-Quality Back Camera: A stepless optical zoom camera that smoothly transition from 0.6x to 5x optically, and variable aperture. The high-resolution sensor 50MP with 1" equivalent size, allows for smart binning of pictures for cutting-edge digital photography without compromises.
• LED Flash: yes, a LED flash that also acts as a flashlight, who could have told?
• High-Quality Front Camera: The device needs to be used for videocalls, so it has 12MP with wide-angle lens, sporting autofocus and auto-framing.
• Sync by design: Automated backup to preferred cloud solution or NAS for convenience are implemented by default and easy to set.

Apps

All default apps can be uninstalled, and the first time the user opens one, a simple popup asks whether he/she wants to download another one from a shortlist or search another in the store. This can be done at any time, of course, not only at the popup.

• Audio
  • Music Player: Clean media player for offline listening that supports Hi-Res tracks.
  • Radio Player: In the sea of audio inputs, internet radio along with podcasts remain a must for many people, and this app merges the two.
  • Audiobook reader: Support for major audiobook applications: Audible, Audiobooks.com, Realm, Google Play Books, Kobo Books, Nook Audiobooks.
  • Music streaming: Support for major streaming applications: Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Napster, Qobuz, Spotify, TIDAL, and YouTube Music.
• Utilities
  • Alarm, Timer, and Calculator: Basic utility tools.
  • Notes and Voice Memos: Simple note-taking and voice recording.
• Calendar: Basic scheduling and reminders, that stays local, but able to sync with popular services as Google Calendar, Outlook, and Proton Calendar.
• GPS navigator: Sigic is integrated as default navigator, that come with augmented reality and 3D navigation features.
• eBooks Reader: The open source app supports all major formats like EPUB, .mobi, PDF, DjVu, HTML, plain text, and other specialized formats such as FictionBook, CBT, and CBZ formats.

Banking and Loyalty Apps:

• Mobile Banking: Support for secure mobile banking apps to manage finances, pay bills, and transfer funds.
• Loyalty and Discount Cards: Integration with apps like Stocard or Catima to store and manage loyalty cards and discounts.
• NFC payment: Do you pay with a tap of your phone? Well, GedankenPhone allows it. Don't expect ApplePay to work anytime soon on an Android-based OS, but all the other major ones are supported.

Streamlined Models release:

• A platform for other tech firms: Tech evolves and components manufacturers, as well as software developers, need a showcase. Staying in limited edition, the GedankenPhone wants to integrate great tech and valorize it thanks to its focused, streamlined experience, allowing for years-long support.
• One model per release: As for the glorious days when you knew which iPhone was going to get released, and the same way handheld consoles don't need frequent refreshes, one model each year is the maximum frequency required for a device that needs to last.
• Target Price: $800. While competitive, the price reflects the high-quality features of other devices it can replace. Bundling it with optional high-quality accessories (e.g., charger, cable, custom case) is the only way the price is augmented to a max of $1000. This adds value for the ones who require these add-ons, and helps keep the cost of the device down.

[1] https://www.thelightphone.com/shop/products/light-phone-iii
[2] https://daylightcomputer.com/
[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gedankenexperiment
[4] https://grapheneos.org/source
[5] https://www.gps.gov/systems/gnss/