Intuitively Intentional: The Value of a Minimalistic Smartphone Experience

In a mobile landscape filled with distraction and doomscrolling, perhaps a simple approach is what we all need

The idea of minimalism is enticing. The idea of living life with intentionality and purpose, only buying things that serve a need, and cutting away the fat of life can be appealing. But in practice, it is difficult. As someone that has leaned more and more into minimalism as I have aged, I can attest to the fact that it is hard to stop accumulating things, to stop collecting items that don’t have a defined purpose. We have seen minimalism creep its way into the design of our technology in recent years. More companies have gone for simpler designs, with an emphasis on removing unnecessary features. iPhone fans’ favorite tagline of “it just works” is heavily rooted in minimalism for instance. The nature of smartphones is to grab our attention constantly, which flies in the face of intentionality. But what if you wanted to change that? What would a minimalist phone experience look like? And is it worth trying?

Less is More