[techstrategist]

Vouched to bring this comment back to life. Probably flagged because it’s an “actually your problem is very simple” response, but there’s truth to it.

My pocket device needs these features: (a touch short of absolute requirements, but who’s counting)

a nice camera; cellular connection for data, sms, and voice calls; receive notifications from various apps (email, school, daycare, whatsapp), actually open the apps that don’t put all the relevant information in the notification; and play spotify and libro.fm with a speaker and bluetooth headphones.

While reducing excess usage in ways that are not too complex to configure, and also not too easy to disable.

Maybe I could get close with a wifi camera + a cellular watch?

[seelmobile]

I had a similar experience as you but ended up reducing my requirements and getting a dumb phone (Jethro SC490) with no direct internet access and the ability to set up a hotspot.

If I need anything besides SMS/MMS and voice calls I turn on a hotspot and take out my laptop. I'm "offline" by default but still reachable in emergencies.

I do cheat on the camera portion by using my partner's smartphone for pictures where I care about the quality.

You lose conveniences but the tradeoff was very worth it in my case. I have no plans of going back to a smartphone.

[krrrh]

What you’re asking for has been available for years. The answer is to swallow your pride and have a friend set up parental controls on your phone and safeguard the password from you.

[techstrategist]

Interesting option thanks for mentioning it.

[dorchadas]

I'm roughly the same. All I want is a phone that lets me play Spotify, tracks my steps during the day/gps on runs, and lets me use messaging apps (Telegram, WhatsApp) along with SMS and call. Really need nothing else on it (and am starting to get that way). Maybe a smart watch is the best option, but I really don't like the design of most of them, and prefer my old school kinetic powered watch.