Home · Technology · Nov 4 archive
Enough Phone Launches on Kickstarter for $399
Confirmed
In Short: The Enough Phone, a compact smartphone, launches on Kickstarter for early backers at $399.
The Enough Phone, a compact smartphone, launches on Kickstarter for early backers at $399, aiming to test the market's appetite for smaller devices.
The device features a 5.3-inch screen, a size reminiscent of early smartphones, and is designed to be an unlocked 5G phone with broad global support.
According to Ars Technica, the Enough Phone is not a flagship killer but is likely 'enough' for most users, offering a modern alternative to the compact devices that have largely disappeared from the market.
The Enough Phone includes a 3,500–4,000mAh removable battery, a microSD card slot, and a polycarbonate rear panel, choices that would have been unusual for even the iPhone 13 mini.
TechRepublic notes that the phone is positioned as a modern alternative rather than a stripped-down or nostalgia-driven handset, with a single 50MP rear camera and a 32MP front-facing camera.
The Enough Phone faces a difficult path to launch, needing 200,000 supporters before moving ahead with the device, according to Notebookcheck.
Despite the passion of small phone enthusiasts, the phone industry has largely moved towards larger devices, with Apple discontinuing the iPhone Mini in 2023 and Sony discontinuing its compact Xperia 5 series.
The Enough Phone's approach contrasts with other devices that focus more on digital well-being and resemble 'dumb phones,' such as the Light Phone III, Minimal Phone, or Mudita Kompakt.
The Dimensity 7500 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage is designed to perform well while being power-efficient, a core requirement for a compact phone with a small battery.
The team at Enough has decided on a user-replaceable battery, which could help with device longevity and help it stand out against a crowd of flagship phones with non-user-replaceable batteries.
What this adds
The Enough Phone's compact design and unique features make it an unusual attempt to rethink what a modern smartphone should prioritize, trading some of the design conventions users have come to expect for a smaller phone that gives them more control over its hardware.
The road ahead for the Enough Phone is uncertain, with TechRadar noting it may never launch the device.
What's confirmed
- The Enough Phone, a compact smartphone, launches on Kickstarter for early backers at $399, aiming to test the market's appetite for smaller devices.
- The device features a 5.3-inch screen, a size reminiscent of early smartphones, and is designed to be an unlocked 5G phone with broad global support.
- According to Ars Technica, the Enough Phone is not a flagship killer but is likely 'enough' for most users, offering a modern alternative to the compact devices that have largely disappeared from the market.
- The Enough Phone includes a 3,500–4,000mAh removable battery, a microSD card slot, and a polycarbonate rear panel, choices that would have been unusual for even the iPhone 13 mini.
- TechRepublic notes that the phone is positioned as a modern alternative rather than a stripped-down or nostalgia-driven handset, with a single 50MP rear camera and a 32MP front-facing camera.
- The Enough Phone faces a difficult path to launch, needing 200,000 supporters before moving ahead with the device, according to Notebookcheck.
- Despite the passion of small phone enthusiasts, the phone industry has largely moved towards larger devices, with Apple discontinuing the iPhone Mini in 2023 and Sony discontinuing its compact Xperia 5 series.
- The Enough Phone's approach contrasts with other devices that focus more on digital well-being and resemble 'dumb phones,' such as the Light Phone III, Minimal Phone, or Mudita Kompakt.
- The Dimensity 7500 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage is designed to perform well while being power-efficient, a core requirement for a compact phone with a small battery.
- The team at Enough has decided on a user-replaceable battery, which could help with device longevity and help it stand out against a crowd of flagship phones with non-user-replaceable batteries.
What's still developing
- Sure, people talk about wanting smaller phones, but will they buy one?
- The company’s cheeky name is reflected in its approach to phone design.
- Small phone lovers are passionate, but there aren’t enough of them to stop the phone industry from shipping increasingly large phones.
- A new phone maker is betting that some users still want compact phones.
- Enough’s challenge is proving that enthusiasm for smaller phones can translate into enough buyers to manufacture one.
- Those decisions make the device an unusual attempt to rethink what a modern smartphone should prioritize, trading some of the design conventions users have come to expect for a smaller phone that gives them more control over its hardware.
- Enough is also building the phone around hardware choices that have become rare, including a replaceable battery and expandable storage.
- Enough is also keeping the camera hardware unusually simple, with a single 50MP rear camera and a 32MP front-facing camera rather than the multi-camera arrays found on many current smartphones.
- Even as it tests an appeal for phones that have long disappeared, the road ahead doesn’t look smooth, with TechRadar noting it may never launch the device.
- Apple stopped selling the iPhone Mini in 2023 because of poor sales; on the Android side, Asus was one of the few phone makers churning out compact phones under its Zenfone line, but it paused its mobile division early this year to focus on AI, robotics, and smart glasses.
- But the Enough Phone, launching today on Kickstarter for $499 (with a final price estimated around $599), takes a slightly more unique approach.
- Clicks—a relatively new company that makes keyboard accessories for smartphones—is launching the Communicator in December, a 4-inch Android phone with a keyboard.
