The third more expensive basic phone on this list is the one I’d recommend over the Punkt and Light Phone 2 if you want the most ‘smart’ features but still get up to a week of battery life (usage dependent). When using the phone in New Zealand on a local SIM, the battery life depleted to empty in less than 12 hours, but in the UK it lasted for three days of light use on the Giffgaff network.

This useful feature is available globally on eligible KaiOS-enabled devices with 512 MB of RAM at least.The new feature is available to millions of smart feature phone users with the latest version of the app on KaiOS devices worldwide equipped with 512MB RAM. The software even guides you through setting up the phone with more detail than regular smartphones after you can select your knowledge level. Make sure you get the ‘new generation’ of the MP02 – there’s an older hardware version that no longer gets software updates.

But, the features that WhatsApp for KaiOS was bringing weren’t even close to the smartphone app, so the next WhatsApp update for this OS will make many users happy. Brands like Nokia have recognized this demand, offering options such as the Nokia keypad mobile with WhatsApp and Nokia dumb phone with WhatsApp, which blend the classic feel of a keypad with the smart functionality of WhatsApp.If you must check your inbox, it picks up 4G networks and can function as a wifi hotspot for connecting a linked device. It’s a simple voice and text phone designed by Swiss company Punkt and British designer Jasper Morrison. It provides the most essential apps – WhatsApp, Google Maps for navigation, YouTube and Facebook and online browser. Unlike several basic phones, it can also connect to wifi and it comes pre-loaded with apps for WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps and Google Assistant.

These devices cater to those who wish to stay connected without the distractions or complexities of full-fledged smartphones. On the GH tech team, we test dumb phones by checking how easy they are to use compared to smartphones. Whether its the perfect day at the beach with family or the photo that transport you back to that moment stay connected to what really matters. A downside is the screen is quite small, so if you necessarily need the text size set larger then menus are harder to navigate as only two lines fit on the screen at once, and text has to scroll to be read.It can receive text messages but can’t send them and its highly simplified approach makes it a good option for people with memory loss or reduced dexterity. As for storage, the phone has 512 MB RAM and 4GB ROM, which is expandable up to 32 GB via a microSD card. A basic phone can be great if you’d like to take a break from screens for a few days, or see if you live without a smartphone longer term.