Don't look now, but flip phones are making a comeback

According to a number of media outlets, the biggest trend this year is the return of the humble flip phone. The Seattle Times said, "The flip phone is the new protest statement." Baltimore Sun Op-Ed writer Katie Reid swapped her Apple iPhone for a Kyocera flip phone. She did it at first to disconnect from a social media addiction (which seems to be a common thread among those turning to an unconnected handset) and then to make sure her infant daughter doesn't grow up with a smartphone as her best friend.

Perhaps it is no surprise that those leaving a smartphone for a flip phone feel more focused. One person who made the switch, Brooklyn's Roman Cochet, swapped his Apple iPhone for an LG flipper and says that without a smartphone's constant demand for his attention, he feels more focused and less distracted. And this trend has even hit Hollywood where Kim Kardashian-West and Daniel Day-Lewis were spotted clutching flip phones. For the former, who was known for her love of BlackBerry handsets, this seems like a big surprise. After all, Kardashian-West has been the star of a mobile game, helped advertise the LuMee selfie case, and launched the Kimoji app for iOS.

A group called Wait Until 8th, which proposes that parents wait until their kid is in 8th grade before buying him/her a smartphone, has over 10,000 signatures from parents in all 50 states who agree with that premise. An ad run by the organization says "Need to get in touch with your child? Buy a flip phone."

Not all flip phones are relics from another age. The Samsung W2018, available only in China, is an Android powered flipper that is priced at the equivalent of $2,500 USD. With a Snapdragon 835 chipset inside, the device carries a pair of 4.2-inch OLED displays, 6GB of RAM and 64GB/256GB of native storage. The 12MP camera that the phone is equipped with, features an f/1.5 aperture. But this phone doesn't disconnect the user from Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram.

The one old flip phone that many are hoping to see a revival of is one of the top selling phones of all time, the Motorola RAZR. Earlier this year, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing hinted that we could see the return of Motorola's iconic flip phone.

source: TheOutline via BaltimoreSun, SeattleTimes