Praise for the Jelly Star
My small-phone journey
I got my first iPhone in 2009, and my last one was a 13 Mini. I found nothing mini about that phone, and it is an extremely effective little dopamine rectangle.
So I switched to a Light Phone 2.
There was a lot to love:
- E-ink screen
- Great form factor
- Nothing to scroll
- A general sense that my phone had politely stopped yelling at me
But it was an intense commitment to frictionmaxxxing.
I couldn’t check Slack when I stepped away from my desk. I couldn’t stream music. Maps were such a compromise that I ended up hot spotting my old iPhone in the car just to navigate.
A minimalist phone, plus a second phone without a SIM to hotspot to... not very elegant.
Then I dropped the Light Phone in a parking lot and it was crushed by a car. I guess the universe made its judgement.
I went back to the iPhone for a while, tried the Mudita Kompakt, and eventually bought a Jelly Star.
I haven’t switched back.
Why the Jelly Star works for me
The Jelly Star hits the sweet spot: just enough friction.
Facebook and long-form news reading are technically possible, but not especially inviting on a tiny screen. At the same time, nobody is deciding which apps are good or bad for me.
I can still:
- Use real maps
- Connect to Android Auto
- Stream music
- Check Slack in a pinch
- Pull up QR codes
- Call an Uber like a person living in the modern world
There is no weird compromise when I get into the car. There is no second phone living in the glove compartment. It is just a full Android phone that happens to be a tiny glowing pebble.
What could be better
It is not perfect:
- Text-message reliability can be spotty
- The camera is nowhere near iPhone quality, which is a real bummer when you have kids
- Software updates and security support have ended
- I worry that there may never be another phone quite like it
The Jelly Max exists, but it is, well, maxier.
The sweet spot
The Jelly Star is the first phone I’ve owned that feels like a tool without requiring me to opt out of society.
It gives me friction where I want it and just enough weirdness to get asked, "Is that a phone" whenever I am out.