By cryptoadmin 
Mild, the corporate behind a pair of minimalist handsets, simply launched the Mild Cellphone III. That is the right system for individuals who are uninterested in trendy smartphones, with their quick access to doomscrolling and their abundance of wonky AI instruments.
The Mild Cellphone III contains a glossy black-and-white OLED show, which is a brand new design component. The earlier fashions included e-paper screens. The massive draw, nonetheless, will not be what this telephone has however what it doesn’t have. There are not any third-party apps. There’s no entry to social media, the web and even e mail. It’s supposed to be, before everything, a telephone.
It’s not fully naked. This mannequin consists of an embedded NFC chip for making funds, a bare-bones music participant, a podcast participant, a messaging app, a flashlight, voice notes, a calendar, a timer and an alarm. It additionally features a easy digicam system that was impressed by point-and-shoot fashions. There’s a two-step shutter button with middle focus and a set focal size. The corporate calls it “genuinely enjoyable.”
The Mild Cellphone III has a navigation app, which is probably going essentially the most helpful a part of trendy smartphones, however with a twist. The corporate paid for personal entry to navigational info, so Right here (the mapping platform powering the app) has no visibility into the place you go or what you seek for.
Different specs embrace 6GB of RAM, up from 1GB within the Mild Cellphone II, 128GB of reminiscence and a more moderen Qualcomm chip. It features a fingerprint ID on the ability button, a USB-C port and a few loudspeakers on the backside. The battery can also be user-replaceable, which is a large bonus. It’s bigger than earlier generations and I discover it to be fairly cute. It's across the width of a contemporary iPhone, however a lot shorter. This was on objective, the corporate says, to make it simpler to textual content whereas holding it vertically.
There’s a spot of dangerous information right here. The Mild Cellphone III prices $799, which dwarves the value of the second-gen mannequin (although it’s much more able to a tool). That stated, you possibly can nonetheless put in an order on the pre-order value of $599 for now — we'll see how lengthy that sticks round for.
Replace, March 27 2025, 1:15PM ET: This story has been up to date to notice that the Mild Cellphone navigation app makes use of Right here, not Google for mapping. It additionally has been up to date to notice that the $599 pre-order value continues to be obtainable for now.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cell/smartphones/the-minimalist-light-phone-iii-is-officially-available-for-purchase-150056138.html?src=rss