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The 5 best feature phones of 2024: For people who don’t need a smartphone
Punkt.
Not everyone wants the latest smartphone — like the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or Google Pixel 8 Pro. If you’re not a tech-savvy person and all you want is a cell phone for calls (with a few other basic features thrown in), or you want to give your child a phone for emergencies, there are numerous benefits to a “feature phone” or “dumb phone.”
Don’t worry: Using a “dumb phone” is in no way is a reflection of your intelligence. In fact, if you would rather call it a minimalist phone, that’s all good by us.
If you’re looking for a low-cost smartphone, be sure to check out our coverage of the five best smartphones under $500. And if you need advice about switching from an Apple iPhone to an Android phone, or transitioning from an Android phone to an iPhone, we’ve got you covered.
What is the best dumb phone right now?
A feature phone has more features than a basic phone, but fewer features and an simpler interface than a full-fledged smartphone. In addition to being less expensive, a feature phone tends to offer physical buttons, instead of virtual ones. And while the phone may have a full-color display, it won’t be a touchscreen. The latest feature phones also tend to be physically smaller than a smartphone and have a longer battery life.
Our team of in-house tech experts has curated this roundup of the best feature phones available right now. So, if you’re looking to downgrade from your current smartphone to help reduce screen time, or you’re shopping for a phone for someone who doesn’t need a smartphone, here are some great (and low cost) options.
Best feature phone overall: Punkt. MP02
Punkt.
Screen size: 2 inch LCD (320 x 240 pixels) | Battery life: Up to 4.2 hours (talk time), Up to 180 hours (standby) | Locked/unlocked: Unlocked | Cellular service support: 4G LTE | Dimensions: 4.61 x 2.02 x 0.57 inches | Weight: 3.53 ounces | Special features: 3.5mm headphone jack; 16GB of storage; Can serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot
When it comes to feature phones, it doesn’t get more basic than the Punkt. MP02. This is an unlocked phone that’ll work with any carrier, but it’s designed mainly for calls and texts. That’s it. The phone offers a minimalist design, a streamlined menu system, plus security and privacy tools.
This phone only provides 4G LTE service, which, for tasks that don’t involve the web or using apps, is plenty. It also keeps the cost of your monthly service extra affordable. Unlike so many low-cost phones, this one is well made and durable.
Beyond the numeric keypad buttons, the other buttons are clearly labeled with simple icons for scrolling up and down menus, accessing your phone book, or switching to the phone’s text messaging function.
While offering distraction-free and simple communication, this phone can be used with wired or wireless headphones or earbuds. And if you subscribe to a service plan that includes data, the phone can serve as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices, like a tablet.
Best budget feature phone: Nokia 6300
Nokia
Screen size: 2.4 inches (320 x 230 pixels) | Battery life: 7.5 hours (talk time), up to 5 days (standby) | Locked/unlocked: Unlocked | Cellular service support: 4G LTE | Dimensions: 5.17 x 2.09 x 0.54 inches | Weight: 3.7 ounces | Special features: 512GB internal storage; OK Google (Google Assistant) support; 3.5mm headphone jack; Low resolution front and rear camera
If you’re on a tight budget and want a simple flip phone at a really low price, the Nokia 6300 is just what you’re seeking. This is a 4G LTE phone that provides the most basic smartphone functions, like the ability to run Google Maps for navigation, access social media accounts, and stream YouTube videos.
It’s primarily designed for calls and texts via the 12-button keypad or with dictation using Google Assistant. The Nokia 6300 comes unlocked, so it can be activated with any provider. And if you subscribe to a cellular plan that includes data, the phone can generate a personal Wi-Fi hotspot for your other compatible devices.
For international travel, the phone comes with WhatsApp preinstalled, which makes calling and messaging with people anywhere in the world simple and secure. Plus, with access to Ok Google, you can get questions answered or compose text messages using your voice.
Since this phone uses older technology, it relies on a single Micro USB port for charging, but the charging cable is included with the phone. The phone’s small, but full-color, display shows just enough information to make it useful, without being confusing to operate.
Best feature phone for kids: Bark Phone
Amazon
Screen size: 6.6 inch LCD touchscreen (2,408 x 1,080 pixels) | Battery life: Talk time varies, Up to 7 days (standby) | Locked/unlocked: Locked | Cellular service support: 5G | Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.07 x 0.36 inches | Weight: 9.1 | Special features: 64GB storage; Monthly plan starting at $39/month; Integrated parental controls and content filters; Real-time GPS tracking for parents; Runs Android 13 (or later), 3.5mm headphone jack; Water resistant
The Bark Phone is a low-end smartphone with a 6.6-inch LCD touchscreen display, and it’s designed specifically with kids in mind. It comes with a vast selection of parental controls and content filters, so a parent can determine who a child can communicate with, when they can use the phone, and what they can do with it.
Yes, the phone can offer your child internet and social media access, but this can be blocked, filtered to eliminate inappropriate content, and remotely monitored. In fact, the phone automatically scans all texts, emails, social media content and apps. It will block inappropriate content, based on your child’s age and what you as the parent want.
The phone also includes detailed GPS tracking and geofencing, so you can track your child’s location in real time, or automatically be alerted when they come or go from a specific location, such as home, school, or a friend’s house. It’s also possible for a parent to remotely set alarms and reminders for their child.
Several phone plans are available, starting at $39 per month, with no contract required. You can purchase the phone outright for $199 on Amazon and then pay for month-to-month service though Bark, or from Bark’s website, subscribe to a service plan (with unlimited talk and text) and get the phone for free. For advanced monitoring tools and extra features, the monthly service plan costs $49. Whichever plan you choose, what you’re paying a premium for is the advanced parental controls, content filters, tracking and monitoring — features not offered by most other phones.
Best feature phone for seniors: Jitterbug Flip 2
Lively
Screen size: 5.8 inch color LED (main) | Battery life: Up to 12 hours (talk time) | Locked/unlocked: Locked | Cellular service support: 4G LTE | Dimensions: 4.3 x 2.19 x 0.75 inches | Weight: 4.7 ounces | Special features: 16GB storage; Runs Android; One touch speed dialing; Front-facing camera; Hearing aid (M4/T4) compatible; Built in speakerphone
Designed for older users, the Jitterbug Flip 2 can handle calls and texts in an inexpensive package accompanied by a low-cost monthly service plan.
The Jitterbug Flip 2 has a classic flip design. It’s compact and easily fits in a pocket. However, this model has extra-large buttons for easy dialing and navigation, There’s also a one-touch emergency button someone can press if they ever need assistance. (That service is available 24/7.) The phone is compatible with the Alexa digital assistant, so the user can initiate calls or compose text messages using their voice.
The rechargeable battery is long-lasting, and nationwide service is provided, with no long-term contract. Three plan options are available, priced at $20, $40 or $50 per month. Only the more expensive plans offer 24/7 access to trained urgent-response agents and an on-call nurse.
Actually operating the phone is a straightforward process, especially when it comes to dialing phone numbers that are pre-saved. And the phone is compatible with hearing aids that support Bluetooth connectivity with a phone.
Best feature phone for everyday use: Nokia 2780 Flip
Nokia
Screen size: 2.8 inches (240 x 320 pixels) LCD | Battery life: Up to 7 hours (talk time), Up to 18 days (standby) | Locked/unlocked: Unlocked | Cellular service support: 4G LTE | Dimensions: 7.96 x 2.28 x 0.45 inches | Weight: 4.6 ounces | Special features: 4GB storage; Large keypad buttons; Expandable memory
This no-frills feature phone allows you to take a step back in time, when it was easy to make and receive calls without having to learn how to complex features. The Nokia 2870 Flip also offers a basic phone design that’s affordable.
In the United States, the phone can be activated with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Boost, Cricket, Metro, Net10, Tracfone and others, as long as the service has a compatible 4G LTE cellular network. When folded, the phone’s small outer display showcases caller ID information for incoming calls.
The handset features large buttons and hearing-aid compatibility. It also has limited ability to access the internet and run certain apps, like Google Maps and YouTube. The battery offers up to seven hours of talk time, or up to 18 days of standby time between charges. If you need more storage, it can be added anytime using an optional memory card.
Is a dumb phone worth it?
The main benefits of the latest feature phones include:
- They’re easier to use.
- They’re typically smaller and easier to carry.
- They offer distraction-free calling and texting.
- They’re ideal for kids.
- They’re useful for adults who want to cut their screen time.
- These phones are less expensive than traditional smartphones and require a less sophisticated (and often much less expensive) cellular service plan.
- Most come unlocked and can be activated anywhere in the world and with any cellular service provider.
However, since these phones typically use older technology and provide far less functionality than a full-featured smartphone, they have a few drawbacks, too. These include:
- Feature phones typically lack a large, full-color touchscreen.
- Most of these these phones run few or no apps.
- They offer limited or no internet access, which often means no email or social media.
- They rely on 4G LTE cellular connectivity, not the latest 5G service.
Pro Tip: If you want to be able to compose texts, we recommend a feature phone that supports a digital assistant, like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, so you can easily compose messages using your voice. Remember, most of these phones lack a physical or virtual alphanumeric keyboard.
For more help choosing the perfect phone, be sure to read our round up of the seven best cell phones or 2024, the best Android smartphones for 2024 and our coverage of the best folding smartphones. We’ve also published in-depth reviews of popular phones, including the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and OnePlus 12. For even more tech-related reviews, buyer’s guides, deals and information, be sure to check out all of our ongoing tech coverage.
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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson died overnight in a car accident.
The Upper Marlboro, Maryland native played for Alabama and Oregon. He was drafted by the Vikings in April in round 4 as the 108th overall pick.
He was 24 years old.
“Our thoughts are with Khyree’s family, friends, teammates and coaches, as well as all the victims of this tragic accident,” the Vikings wrote on X.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said he was “crushed” by the news of Jackson’s death.
“In our short time together, it was evident Khyree was going to develop into a tremendous professional football player, but what was more impressive was his desire to become the best person he could be for his family and those around him,” O’Connell added.
The crash happened in Upper Marlboro shortly after 3 a.m. and involved three cars, according to Maryland state police. Investigators believe the driver of a silver Infiniti car tried to change lanes at a high rate of speed and struck the car that Jackson was in, as well as a Chevrolet Impala.
The two other occupants of Jackson’s car also died in the crash. The occupants of the other cars were not hurt.
Officials believe that alcohol could have been a contributing factor in the crash.
In a statement, the Minnesota Vikings say they have offered support to Jackson’s family, and are offering counseling and emotional support to the players who seek it.
This is a developing story. Check back with WCCO.com for more.
Note: The above video first aired on June 24, 2024.
Alfred Handley leaned back in his wheelchair alongside a major Phoenix freeway as a street medicine team helped him get rehydrated with an intravenous saline solution dripping from a bag hanging on a pole.
Cars whooshed by under the blazing 96-degree morning sun as the 59-year-old homeless man with a nearly toothless smile got the help he needed through a new program run by the nonprofit Circle the City.
“It’s a lot better than going to the hospital,” Handley said of the team that provides health care to homeless people. He’s been treated poorly at traditional clinics and hospitals, he said, more than six years after being struck by a car while he sat on a wall, leaving him in a wheelchair.
Circle the City, a non-profit that works in multiple cities and hospitals and treats about 9,000 people annually, introduced its IV rehydration program as a way to protect homeless people in Phoenix from life-threatening heat illness as temperatures regularly hit the triple-digits in America’s hottest metro.
Matt York / AP
Homeless people accounted for nearly half of the record 645 heat-related deaths last year in Maricopa County, which encompasses metro Phoenix. As summers grow warmer, health providers from San Diego to New York are being challenged to better protect homeless patients.
Dr. Liz Frye, vice chair of the Street Medicine Institute which provides training to hundreds of healthcare teams worldwide, said she didn’t know of groups other than Circle the City administering IVs on the street. The organization also distributes tens of thousands of water bottles each summer and tries to educate people about hot weather dangers.
“But if that’s what needs to happen to keep somebody from dying, I’m all about it,” Frye said.
Bringing care to people in need
The amount of people requiring treatment for heat illnesses is rising. The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, featured in last year’s book, “Rough Sleepers,” now sees patients with mild heat exhaustion in the summer after decades of treating people with frostbite and hypothermia during the winter, said Dr. Dave Munson, the street team’s medical director.
“It’s certainly something to worry about,” said Munson, noting that temperatures in Boston hit 100 degrees with 70% humidity during June’s heat wave. Homeless people, he said, are vulnerable to very hot and very cold weather not only because they live outside, but they often can’t regulate body temperature due to medication for mental illness or high blood pressure, or because of street substance use.
The Phoenix team searches for patients in homeless encampments in dry riverbeds, sweltering alleys and along the canals that bring water to the Phoenix area. About 15% are dehydrated enough for a saline drip.
Matt York / AP
“We go out every day and find them,” said nurse practitioner Perla Puebla. “We do their wound care, medication refills for diabetes, antibiotics, high blood pressure.”
Puebla’s street team ran across Handley and 36-year-old Phoenix native Phillip Enriquez near an overpass in an area frequented by homeless people because it’s near a facility offering free meals. Across the road was an encampment of tents and lean-tos along a chain-link fence.
Enriquez sat on a patch of dirt as Puebla started a drip for him. She also gave him a prescription for antibiotics and a referral to a dentist for his dental infection.
Living outside in Arizona’s broiling sun is hard, especially for people who may be mentally ill or use sedating drugs like fentanyl that make them less aware of their surroundings. Stimulants like methamphetamine contribute to dehydration, which can be fatal. Dr. Matt Essary, who works with Circle in the City’s mobile clinics, said the organization also often treats surface burns that can happen when a medical emergency or intoxication causes someone to fall on a sizzling sidewalk.
Matt York / AP
Temperatures this year have reached 115 degrees in metro Phoenix, where six heat-related deaths have been confirmed through June 22. Another 111 are under investigation, and the city is seeing an “increasing” number of patients with heat illnesses every year, according to Dr. Aneesh Narang, the assistant medical director of emergency medicine at Banner Medical Center-Phoenix, which treats many homeless people with heat stroke.
Narang’s staff works frequently with Circle the City, whose core mission is providing respite care, with 100 beds for homeless people not well enough to return to the streets after a hospital stay.
Extreme heat worldwide requires a dramatic response, said physician assistant Lindsay Fox, who cares for homeless people in Albuquerque, New Mexico, through an initiative run by the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine.
Three times weekly, Fox treats infections, cleans wounds and manages chronic conditions in consultation with hospital colleagues. She said the prospect of more heat illness worries her.
Highs in Albuquerque can hit the 90s and don’t fall enough for people living outside to cool off overnight, she said.
“If you’re in an urban area that’s primarily concrete, you’re retaining heat,” she said. “We’re seeing heat exposure that very quickly could go to heat stroke.”
Serious heat stroke is far more common in metro Phoenix, where Circle the City is now among scores of health programs for the homeless in cities like New York, San Diego and Spokane, Washington.
Circle the City works with medical staff in seven Phoenix hospitals to help homeless patients get after-care when they no longer need hospitalization. It also staffs two outpatient clinics for follow-up.
Rachel Belgrade waited outside Circle the City’s retrofitted truck with her black-and-white puppy, Bo, for Essary to write a prescription for the blood pressure medicine she lost when a man stole her bicycle. She accepted two bottles of water to cool off as the morning heat rose.
“They make all of this easier,” said Belgrade, a Native American from the Gila River tribe. “They don’t give you a hard time.”
