Dumber Mini: A Nokia-Style Phone with WhatsApp and Maps | Hacker News Reader

Dumber Mini: A Nokia-Style Phone with WhatsApp and Maps

dumbermini.com

40 pointsthunderbong16 comments

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You can get something like this for half the price: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008733945358.html

"Sorry, this item's currently unavailable in your location."

https://dumbermini.com/pages/faqs

> We will also regularly publish security updates for as long as AOSP 14 is supported by Google.

That won't be for very long. We are at AOSP 17 now. It is sad that they design new phones with so old software.

I can see the Signal Messaging app icon in the product shots. Does it have first class support for Signal in addition to What’s app that’s being predominately promoted.

Seems to be running Lineage OS, so I’m a little hopeful but looking for certainty as WhatsApp is profile so significantly and Signal is not otherwise mentioned.

Not sure how you define "first class" but:

Do you support WhatsApp, Messenger and Signal?

Yes we do! These also work with push notifications via MicroG or Google Play Services to ensure you get instant updates!

Do you support X app?

In general, we support almost all apps that work on Android, only really having difficulty with banking apps or digital id apps (due to Google Play Integrity Check). We ship with either Aurora store or Google Play Store to have full access to the apps on the Google Play Store

> NFC Payments (note: Google Wallet is not available; we recommend using your local bank's app if it supports NFC or Curve Pay in the EU+UK)

Most of which have switched to google-pay the last 2 years, and therefor don't work.

I want to love all these "alternative" phone projects but shipping Android 14 in 2026 is just a non-starter. IIRC the Sidephone also runs an old version (12 or 13). Why does this keep happening?

My idea of an alternative to a modern phone would not let Meta/Google anywhere near it. I'm curious how many people would go out of their way for this kind of hardware but still use those. I thought the point should be making your own choice about what apps are "essential", not going down the path of least resistance and using the ones we're told are "essential".

Please stop calling it an 'OS'. It's just Android with a few custom components.

Like 'LineageOS'? Or 'Fire OS'?

Make it high vis safety yellow with flashing lights, because the number one use case, and bulk of the selling point, is having other people ask you about it.

It has App Store though - doesn’t it mean you can install whatever App and just doom scroll away?

Yeah, the only difference with a regular smartphone is the small screen size, and number-pad.

Id love one, reckon it would make an amazing first phone for my kids.

“The small screen discourages watching Youtube and scrolling social media.”

I don’t get it. If you don’t want to do these things, don’t do them. Why do you need to buy a device that “discourages” you from doing them?

It’s like not keeping junk food in your house so when you are hungry you don’t reach for the junk food.

Also, if you don’t want to use social media or watch YouTube, you can save battery life on a smaller screen, gain durability, and carry a lower weight phone.

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