dumbphone

[ duhm-fohn ]

noun

1. a cell phone without the ability to run apps or connect to the internet and used simply for calling and texting. Compare smartphone ( def ), landline ( def 3 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumbphone¹

First recorded in 2005–10; dumb ( def ) + -phone ( def )

Example Sentences

And Mr Silberbaum concedes that the resulting handset may well end up being something that sits somewhere between a dumbphone and a smartphone.

From BBC

At age 17, Davida Rimm-Kaufman gave up her smartphone to finish high school with a so-called dumbphone, worried that an “extreme addiction” to social media was making her stressed and sad.

From Washington Times

Jacobs finds that one of the remarkable things about his dumbphone is that “It’s just a phone. I don’t think about it. I even accidentally leave the house without it sometimes. It’s not me in the way my iPhone was.”

From Slate

Meanwhile, a 2021 study by accountancy group Deloitte said that one in 10 mobile phone users in the UK had a dumbphone.

From BBC

"It appears fashion, nostalgia, and them appearing in TikTok videos, have a part to play in the dumbphone revival," says Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at price comparison site Uswitch.com.

From BBC