I switched to a flip phone - update

I have used the mive style folder 2 for a couple months. After longer use I started noticing that at least once daily I would stop getting incoming calls and messages and couldn't call others myself then. The problem would get fixed after restarting it but if I didn't notice that happening I would simply not get calls and texts until I noticed it and restarted the phone - apparently that problem often occurs in this model. Additionally, its size actually started to bother me after a while - it's definitely a two-hand device which makes texting on the keypad quite troublesome. Since the phone wasn't reliable for calls and texts where I live, after making sure it isn't a carrier problem, I switched to an emporia touchsmart 3 which fortunately works perfectly. 

While the mive is a slower smartphone in a flip phone factor and can do almost anything a regular smartphone can but slower, the emporia is a de-googled android feature phone marketed towards seniors. It doesn't have an inbuilt app store but I sideloaded a couple apps (messaging, music and podcast, email, waze maps). It's built to be a lot slower than the mive, won't be able to install (or run) most apps and isn't supposed to do much more than calling and texting. But after using the mive I realised - I don't really need much more than that. 

I started making physical notes and lists in a pocket notepad, since texting on a t9 keypad isn't the quickest I started calling people more instead. The phone does have a browser but it won't open everything and is quite slow so If i want to look something up on the internet, instead of dealing with that inconvenience, I simply write it down on my notepad to search up on the laptop at home later. Currently I use my phone for texting and calls only really, occasionaly for checking maps (though the gps doesn't always work sadly) or for music/podcasts. 

Since ditching the iphone got me so much time to spend on other things I got back into reading. My mind got so much more quiet (though it still never shuts up xD). You know the feeling when you're not really thinking about anything and a tiktok song snipped/audio gets stuck in your head? Since making the switch in moments like that a song I actually like and have listened to fully plays in my head instead. 

I have done so much progress in my studies because I can actually focus now without the constant dopamine rush messing with my head. Even if I use the calculator app on my phone when doing maths it's just a tool - one that stays a tool and gets flipped shut when I don't need it anymore, not an all-doing, dancing and singing pocket entertainment machine that can draw me in by simply laying on my desk. My eyes don't get so tired anymore and my head hurts less. In general, ditching the smartphone was the best decision i could make for myself, my life has been improving so much in all aspects ever since. 

So, if you were wondering - it really is worth it.