Hey folks, my wife and I use Pixel phones, but we’re starting to think about a phone for our kid, really just to be able to call 911, probably wouldn’t even get data. We’re looking for cheap and boring, the fewer features, the better. Also open to smart watches, tho we have no experience with them.

Are there any devices that fit the bill? I’m thinking something like an old Nokia brick from 20 years ago, but of course with VoLTE/VoNR.

Thanks for any help this community can provide!

  • Whooping_SealEnglish
    4·
    2 years ago

    Do you still have an old android phone sitting in a drawer somewhere? Perhaps giving the child this with parental controls might be a useful solution. My rationale

    1. You can still use an app such as Signal or WhatsApp to communicate with them. These notably support encryption unlike SMS
    2. You can also use “find my device” (relevant android police article on this topic)
    3. This is cheaper than buying even a cheap dumb phone since you already own the device, and you can argue better for the environment since you’re re-using something instead of creating more e-waste
    4. Particularly if the Android phone is still updated, it is more secure than a dumb phone these days.