Punkt has been selling phones with minimalist design and a limited set of features for the past few years. The latest model is the Punkt MP02 4G mobile phone, which was introduced in 2018 with a 2 inch black and white display, a number pad, and support for voice calls, text messaging, and not much else (although it did add support for encrypted Signal messaging a few years after launch.
But late last year CrackBerry revealed that Punkt had also built a prototype of a smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard before deciding not to bring it to market. Now CrackBerry reports that Punkt has reversed course and does plan to produce and sell the Punkt MC01 Legend smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard after all. But it’s not the only new phone the company has in the pipeline.
The other model is a previously unannounced phone with no physical keyboard or number pad. Instead it has a touchscreen display… you know, like most modern smartphones.
But it’s still positioned as a minimalist phone with a simple design and feature set. It will run a de-Googled, Android-based operating system called AphyOS that places an emphasis on privacy and features basic apps including email, calendar notes, and a to-do list as well as subscription-based services including secure cloud storage and a VPN.
CrackBerry’s Kevin Michaluk got a look at a prototype of the upcoming touchscreen phone at IFA in Berlin earlier this month, and reports that the phone has a “paint splatter texture” on the back, and a simple set of features for “bridging the gap between basic feature phones and their smarter counterparts.”
Since the operating system is based on Android, it’s likely that users who really want to load third-party apps will have a wide variety to choose from. But the AphyOS is based on GrapheneOS and ships without access to the Google Play Store. And honestly, if you wanted a standard Android phone, I’m not really sure why you’d be looking at a Punkt device in the first place.
The Punkt MC01 Legend keyboard phone is also expected to run AphyOS, but and the prototype we saw last year had physical home, back and recent buttons above the keyboard.
There’s no word on when either phone will be available for purchase, how much they’ll cost, or what kind of processor, memory, or storage they have.
But specs are kind of beside the point with phones that are designed to be less distracting than the average iPhone or Android device. If you’re using your phone for basic communication, scheduling and note-taking, you don’t need a blazing fast processor, a 120 Hz full color display, or an impressive multi-camera system.
Never in 1 million years could I have expected the stars to align so well in one device. I am so incredibly excited that they are using graphene, and I’m interested to see how their implementation works with their hardware, seeing as how that operating system is otherwise so tightly tied to the pixel devices. Hopefully it still has secure boot, but even if it doesn’t the rest of the hardening and frequent updates are top of the line. And a hardware keyboard, I must be dreaming. I literally use a pixel device and an external keyboard and they are going to put it all in one. Make the screen eink or transflective b/w LCD and I wil send them my next paycheck.
I have never crossed my fingers so hard in hopes that the hardware keyboard is good. If you’re reading this punkt, I will actually assume I have been hallucinating the whole thing if you offer DVORAK layout!!!
+1
My dear minimalist, I need terminal, minimal 😉 terminal and phone, sms, camera
and week working time
Punkt devices are for the lucky few who manage to get all the success they need in life, and then realize they’ve got all they need, and they don’t need to bother trying to impress angry, miserable people on social media anymore.
But for everyone else, you don’t gain influence by showing people blurry photos of anything, or texting in a way that causes the slightest inconvenience.
First. Seems the new punkt devices would let you live life of influence you want. However, why are you “trying to gain influence” to impress angry, miserable people on social media. These phones are for people who want to increase their productivity in the real working world – not trying to be a media influencer.
So you can get the connections you need to get the job you need to get the money you need to accomplish the things you want.
I will not use big words. I hope they make it affordable for the many and not the few.
I only want a simple yet secure device that allows me to communicate with ease. Anti smart and remove GPS please. Ty.
I love my first gen Punkt phone – when I’m on my (creative) day-job I love the freedom from distraction it gives. So, having a simple but beautiful phone like this, but with the ability to simply communicate in a modern way (email, messaging, calls) – oh yes, I would love to!