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Tech Break: The Boring Phone from Heineken and Bodega

 

Smartphones are amazing, perhaps too amazing for our social lives. That’s why Heineken created The Boring Phone : a phone you need when you don’t. Created in collaboration with streetwear brand Bodega , this phone comes without an HD camera, voice assistant, maps, video calls and social media. It can’t do almost everything a smartphone can. The Boring Phone takes us back to a time before smartphones.

Produced by Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Human Mobile Devices (HMD) , which also produces Nokia phones, The Boring Phone is free of the ‘distractions’ found on today’s smartphones and is used primarily for phone calls and text messages. Most notably, it has no internet access or social media, which is intended to encourage young adults to ‘disconnect from their technology’ and engage in person rather than spending time on their smartphones.

 
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Technical Specifications

Reminiscent of mobile phone technology available in the early 2000s, this foldable phone features a transparent casing that users can cover with holographic stickers and a monochrome bottom screen displaying two Heineken beer bottles. Its design is inspired by the Newtro culture, featuring retro aesthetics interpreted in a modern context, aiming to appeal to Gen Z and Millennial audiences. In keeping with its old-school design, the phone has a long battery life of one week on standby. It also features a 0.3-megapixel camera, FM radio, and a snake game.
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A Study on Generation Z

The Boring Phone concept was born out of research conducted by Heineken on smartphone usage among Gen Z and Millennials in the UK and US. According to the brand, 90% of those surveyed admitted to “bad times” in social settings, and found that they check their phones an average of seven times a night. Heineken claims that attitudes towards mobile phone use are changing. Its research found that 37% of respondents felt they checked their phones frequently in social settings, while 32% said they didn’t check their phones at night."to be able to close"found that he preferred it.

HMD has only made 5,000 Boring Phones, but none of them are available for purchase. In June, an app will be released that will make smartphones 'boring' in a bid to help people disconnect from technology. Inspired by phones of the past, US startup Clicks Technology has announced an iPhone keyboard with buttons reminiscent of Blackberry phones from the early 2000s. In other mobile phone news, Nokia has partnered with repair experts iFixit to produce a smartphone along with a DIY repair kit that aims to make it easier for people to fix their phones themselves.

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