As a parent, these would sell like hot cakes. A decent phone with games and limited social functions that was enjoyable enough until the child reaches 16 would be terrific.
As a parent, these would sell like hot cakes. A decent phone with games and limited social functions that was enjoyable enough until the child reaches 16 would be terrific.
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I think those exist for old ppl would the child phone have different features?
Because it’s cheaper to just hand them an old shoddy phone that barely can browse the internet, like most actually responsible parents do
“Games and limited social media” isn’t a dumb phone, its just a smartphone with parental controls on it. Which is built into the major OS functions already.
You can buy dumb phones but they’re going to be JUST a phone, straight calls and texts.
They exist but are a niche as you can configure parental controls on any modern phone to not allow features, apps and websites you don’t want your child to visit and let you disable these limitations at will.
There is likely industry pressure against it. When legislation proposed the age of 16 for online privacy consent, a huge industry uproar pushed the age down to 13. (US)
Manufacturing multiple devices, extra features, larger OS, multiple marketing lines, etc. it’s extra cost for the makers. But I agree they should make these.
Kids these days don’t even realize flip phone used to exist. Smh.
Give them the Jitterbug.
Because the market would quickly extend to adults who want just a little less connectivity and data harvesting, resulting in lower sales and data slurp from pricier devices.
They already exist
Gotta bring back Nokia but with Whatsapp
My children have dumb Nokia phones. Brought new at a local store 1-3 years ago. They have some basic games (think snake), but no internet. One of them has a camera. They cannot send or receive emojis, but otherwise work great.
“Limited social fuctions” is just parental controls which already exists.
How do you definitively what’s “good” or not? There are tons of dumb phones on the market. Also you can always get a dumb phone plus a Switch or Steam Deck or something.
Would a cellular smartwatch do that?
they wouldn’t sell like hot cakes. they exist, and they are crap quality because there isn’t a huge market for them.
Most parents don’t want to spend a bunch of money on a phone that is limited and their kid will grow out of in a short time.
Most smart phones have parental controls that will yield the results you seek. Otherwise a lot of people give their kids brick or flips.
There are tablets that do just this… You can probably get your 5 year old to use it happily. Good luck talking your 13 year old into it.
“Games and limited social functions.”
You mean parental controls that are already built into smartphones? They’re already there, use them. No reason to get an entirely separate device.
You can buy “dumb phones” they aren’t expensive – join the smartphonefreechildhood movement and protect your children’s childhood!
They have.
Parents can already do all the things you’re suggesting.
But many either choose not to or are ignorant of the fact that they can.
There are kids watches that do what you’re asking for. Parents even have control of who can call them (as they add the contacts on their app) have gps, and can restrict even further during school times.
Why hasn’t a company done something that is not in their financial interest when dumb phones are still available for purchase./s
My son has a smartwatch for kids. It basically allows us to call/video call him and track his whereabouts.
He is also able to call/video call us through his watch.
They do they’re just regular phones that are software limited.
Bark
because most phones come with parental controls that do this already
Because if it has a web browser, you’ve already lost the war. You don’t NEED apps to use social media. They just make it more convenient for you and give the company more ability to track you.
get them a burner phone
If you’re talking about a phone that only calls and texts and does the most basic functions, you’re looking for a flip phone. Hint: they do not sell like hot cakes.
If you’re talking about a smartphone that can FaceTime, take photos and videos, play games, and just doesn’t have social media apps, just put parental controls on your kids phones. You can also control how long they can use it, limit internet access, and monitor what they do.
Um…like a flip phone?
The worst things parents could spend money on are things for their children that they’re gonna hate 2 hours after they get it
virtually all the cell companies sell dumb phones.
One approach to this is the Fitbit Ace LTE, a smartwatch that Google made to encourage kids to exercise and have fun (there’s games built in), while also having call and texting features, plus location tracking, so parents can get the safety benefits of giving a kid a phone without actually giving their kid a phone.
Everyone commenting with reasons why they don’t exist is full of crap.
https://kidcomms.com.au/ here’s one
https://www.hmd.com/en_au/hmd-barbie-phone here’s another
There are also phones with extra big buttons for seniors with poor eyesight.
I’m 30. When I was idk around 12 we were looking at phones. Ended up going with the classic Nokia brick, but I distinctly remember there were some called Spark or something that was a basic phone for calling and texting, with the added security of GPS location always on for the parent, as well as extremely limited apps, if any at all.
I could see something like that being a big hit these days. Or fail spectacularly as it seems most parents are fine with the tablet keeping their kids occupied.
It’s called an iPod
I feel like you haven’t googled it before assuming it doesn’t exist.
My parents got me something like this for a while when I was younger. It was by a company called gabb if I recall correctly. It had all the basics like call, text, camera, music, notes, etc but no App Store, games, or social media. It was basically just a flip phone but with the form factor of a smartphone
Because you can give your kids your old phone and limit the ability for them to add social media…
They do
16? more like 10 , that is if you want your kid to not be bullied , isolated and hating you of course
I have Gabb Wireless for my teen. It’s like $35 a month and they can call and text and download approved apps. No browser on the phone. They’ve have it for a few years.
Look up Gabb phones, that’s pretty much what you’re looking for. It’s a phone with limited apps, no social media, and sends parents a notification when a text message is flagged for content.
They have, it’s called Gabb
Similarly, I simple ass phone for old folks. There are comments that “these already exist” or “you can use parental controls and/or configure the phone”. But the existing options suck and configuring a phone is a pain in the ass and doesn’t always work how you’d expect and also means you are buying a full-priced touchscreen smart phone and dumbing it down.
How about a nice, simple cheap touch screen phone with very limited functions?
These already exist. You can walk into any Best Buy and walk out with one.
Razor?
Those still exist
They were called iPod touch
Those have existed for ages. Kids just didn’t want them/they were expensive for what they were.
because kids don’t want it, parents might but it’s just a waste if the kid won’t use it
Check out The Light Phone
https://www.thelightphone.com/
You mean a basic flip phone you can get for £20?
there are plenty. they’re not popular tho, you can imagine why.
here’s one https://www.thelightphone.com/lightiii
There are. My kid has a Pinwheel. I wouldn’t say it’s great, but he can text his friends, get calls, listen to music on certain apps. and have some other basic functionality of a smart phone without access to the internet. There are others, such as the Bark phone.
The only answer to this is they already exist. Is this an attempt at a “grassroots” ad campaign?
You could…. Oh, I don’t know… Just tell your kid “no.” 🤷♀️😎✌️
Apple has a kids setting for the Apple Watch so they can text and call a select number of people the parent selects. Zero internet access, no social media. That’s my plan for my kids when they get a bit older. Our community is largely against letting their kids have phones/social media so they won’t be left out. Their school is phone free.
Awhile back Samsung use to have a kid mode on their galaxys. I think you would just enter your pass code and it would switch back to regular mode. They did away with it.
The new iteration of the classic nokia has whatsapp why doesn’t that one or any other old button phone fit your description? There are also ones with a touchscreen
We have them in Japan. There like ¥20,000 ($200) Have a built in gps, can only be used for calls and texts and are super cheap per month. Like ¥500 or something ($5)
You can still get a TracFone for like $30.
Kids want the phone that everyone in their class has.
They have , parents just won’t buy the kids a basic flip phone
I remember when I was a kid, the firefly phone was one of my most desired things I could want. It was colorful and simple. Wish they had that nowadays.
my sister had one when i was little i think it looked like a lady bug…? pretty sure it could only hold like 5 numbers, and only did calls. no texting or internet. this was also mid 2000’s tho..
There are… Gabb, Bark, and others.
flip phones are still out there and cheap
My kid is nearly 11. He has a dumb phone, a watch, an iPod and a hand-held Tetris game – plus a locked down tablet. Separate functions via separate devices – old school!
When he goes to secondary school next year and inevitably starts complaining, we’ll get him a locked down smart phone. As people say that technology is available already, and we do know how to do that.
I remember firefly phones being a thing when I younger
I’m a 40 something pro photographer who wants a high end smartphone with zero cameras in it to lower the cost because it’s useless to me with my thousands in real camera gear.
You might have just thought up an idea that might make you a billionaire. Or someone who reads this post haha.
some have! they never caught on for some reason, but i had one as a kid
They exist. Kids don’t want them. Their friends all have iPhone. Do you want to be the kid wearing Skechers when everyone else is wearing Air Jordans?
You mean Tracfone? Or do we yearn for the Firefly?
They did cricket had a phone called a firefly for kids but adults never bought them
Problem unclear, just activate parental controls
Parents will literally do anything but take 15 minutes to set up parental controls.
Isn’t that Jitterbug? It’s a dumb phone for old people who only want to make calls. No Facebook, no X, no nothing but phone calls.
Because adults would buy it too.
Because kids wouldn’t want it!
Also dumb basic phones were around for 10 or 15 years… Nokia 3310?
Anything that’s the cheapest on the market will do, you can get old style ones with button keyboards that can access the web but very very limited capability wise, the smart phone ones can still get on socials but apps like tik tok are so laggy it’s a pain
My dad still uses a flip phone. We buy him burner phones and slip his SIM in.
They exist. We gave our oldest a Bark Phone when they started roaming the neighborhood (no payphones anymore for them to call for assistance).
Flip phones r a thing
Because parents won’t tell their kids no to a smart phone. Same parents that let their kids sign up for social media before the TOS allow them to (13)
Just install family link and you’ve got control over everything.
I’ve had parental controls set up and enforced on my kids’ iPhones for years now.
Because the point of the smartphone is to babysit your child.
People want babies and graduation photos. Everything in between is for Apple to deal with.
They did make these phones about 20 years ago. A couple “only phone” models can still be found on the modern market
this is basically the function the iPod Touch served 10 years ago 🤷🏼♀️ all smartphones have parental control capability, most parents just aren’t proactive/savvy enough to get in there and figure them out.
They have. They’re not popular. Parents don’t want their kids to be unpopular, or they struggle to say no to their children.
They already have them. Gabb is an example