Using a Z Flip 5 as a minimalist phone

Рет қаралды 152,314

Күн бұрын

In an attempt to use my phone less I decided to do a little experiment: could I use only the 3.2-inch front screen of the Z Flip 5 as my daily driver for a week, with no shortcuts to social media apps up front to distract me? In theory, it would allow me the full phone I need (by flipping the thing open) when I had to and the minimal phone I wanted for everything else.
Spoiler alert: when there is simply less to do on a screen, your screentime will significantly drop. Tune into the video above to see how it went and for more tips on cutting back on mindless scrolling. #Technology #Samsung #Smartphone
Read more: bit.ly/3RHurLn
0:00 the reason
0:42 the idea
1:35 the setup
2:15 everything that went wrong
4:25 everything that went right
5:20 other ways to use your phone less
6:40 a lil’ 2023 reflection
Subscribe: goo.gl/G5RXGs
Like The Verge on Facebook: goo.gl/2P1aGc
Follow on Twitter: goo.gl/XTWX61
Follow on Instagram: goo.gl/7ZeLvX
Follow on TikTok: bit.ly/42VeCVU
The Vergecast Podcast: pod.link/430333725
Decoder with Nilay Patel: apple.co/3v29nDc
More about our podcasts: www.theverge.com/podcasts
Read More: www.theverge.com
Community guidelines: bit.ly/2D0hlAv
Wallpapers from The Verge: bit.ly/2xQXYJr
Subscribe to The Vergecast on KZfaq, new episodes on Wednesday and Friday: bit.ly/3I6nJtz

Пікірлер: 320

@TheVerge 5 ай бұрын

Big new year's resolution energy here. What are y’all trying to do?

@unknown1859 5 ай бұрын

Uninstall all social media

@supratimsaha3783 5 ай бұрын

staying away from mindless scrolls on youtube shorts and linkedin. :D

@ak_hoops 5 ай бұрын

See more videos from Becca!

@daverizz 5 ай бұрын

Happy New Year Becca! Glad you're feeling better about content creation. And this Z Flip 5 video was interesting. A unique perspective! And I downloaded minimalist phone, and I'm gonna try it! Also, my New Years resolution is to get a new job (I edit video & content creation 😉) and have it be a job that allows me to work remote, (or at least hybrid) and pay me what I'm worth. (working in higher-ed for the last 12 years, and it can be tough on the wallet at times)

@mral6809 5 ай бұрын

Flip 2 user and I love the folded size. I always flip my phone to read but music control or notifications then the phone stays closed.

@brahmy8503 5 ай бұрын

These videos are so good. We need more Becca content in 2024. She’s so incredibly knowledgeable and grounded in her perspective.

@budrager 5 ай бұрын

For sure Beccas videos are super helpful

@muhammadirfaniqbal7025 5 ай бұрын

No we dont

@ennayanne 4 ай бұрын

@muhammadirfaniqbal7025 why not?

@peterpumpkinpatch 2 ай бұрын

I loveee Becca

@MCMXCDX Ай бұрын

@@ennayanne he was just working through some cognitive dissonance, hopefully now realizes its ok to admit liking the videos he watches!

@jeremyude 5 ай бұрын

I just spent my entire day binge-watching KZfaq videos and ho-ly do I feel terrible. This video is a great wake-up call to focus on what's happening around me again, because I'm too often one of those people staring into their phone screen. Have a wonderful year everyone and thank you for the consistent quality content you're putting out at The Verge.

@unknown.020 4 ай бұрын

Had the same problem and it drastically helped to turn off youtube recommendations. My youtube homescreen is completely empty and I can only watch videos, if I search for them or click on my subscriptions. KZfaq shorts is disabled as well.

@jolness1 5 ай бұрын

Becca’s enthusiasm is infectious. I love the videos she makes so much.

@itsalexclark 5 ай бұрын

Ooo. I like that launcher that displays how much time you’ve been on the app next to it. I feel like that visual cue would prevent me from opening apps. If only they had that feature on iOS.

@emadadnan000 5 ай бұрын

Which launcher ?

@TheHallamski 5 ай бұрын

Samsung's oneui

@sagarmandhani 5 ай бұрын

@@emadadnan000Indistract Launcher on Android

@Antenox 5 ай бұрын

@@TheHallamskiNo, the monochrome one. Indistract Minimalist Launcher

@laurengarrison6629 5 ай бұрын

Yeah I was gonna say android has a widget that displays your screen time. Maybe I should put that right in front on my home screen lol!

@GraDays 5 ай бұрын

I always love how Becca is still able after tons of gorgeous videos to give us techies new perspectives. Great content, great on screen.

@markojokanovic349 5 ай бұрын

This is by far the most unusual yet brilliant way of controlling your screen time. Great video

@samsicles_jr 5 ай бұрын

one of the best ‘content creators’ imo, appreciate the self reflection at the end

@labmeeting 5 ай бұрын

I've had the Flip 5 from launch. Got it for the exact same reasons, found the same frustrations, and seriously love it overall. I would only add that the uniqueness of the phone is surprisingly satisfying, and watching videos in flex mode is more convenient than expected when I'm mostly just listening while doing other things. Great video Becca, happy 2024!

@reyhanpradantyo 5 ай бұрын

I found what actually kept me away from my phone was use a smartwatch! I have a 12 mini which is already a small screen with not so good battery life, and I use an apple watch se which relieves that fomo anxiety from receiving important notifications. But instead of opening up a notification on my phone and get sucked in and scroll endlessly, I just glance down at my watch and most of the time it's not even an urgent notification so I get on with my day immediately. For this reason alone I find it so tough to go back and wear analog watches from my collection lol

@PaulLembo 5 ай бұрын

Becca, you are one of the only voices that makes the Verge worth checking. You and Deiter were my big two. I don't think I'm unusual in that regard! Keep at it, here or on your own.

@AlexAndrade_axllive 5 ай бұрын

Loved the video and the tips! Lovely message ❤❤❤

@ajmrs 5 ай бұрын

I love Becca so much, I want to be her friend lol. She is so good at what she does. Much love for her work.

@Slurkz 5 ай бұрын

As always, great video, Rebecca! 💜 Thanks bunches.

@zemlanin 5 ай бұрын

6:23 On iOS, you can add multiple Siri Suggestions widgets to a Home Screen. Apps in widgets don’t (seem to) duplicate after applying the change, so it’ll basically shuffle everything quite frequently

@wimi017 5 ай бұрын

The theme and script of this video make me think about the nothing phone 2, and like, this is a good chance to revisit that phone ( I know it's not the usual in this channel doing those kind of videos ) see how software has mature to this point since launch and how can help you out with that goal, looking forward for more Becca video's with this kind of editorial, is really great (just as all the content) happy new year everyone!

@in-tuition-fj9840 4 ай бұрын

It's so great that you are tuning in into the real world vs living inside a screen while being programmed by the apps. The Minimalist launcher worked for me, I did thought about what you do with your Flip 5, but I don't have the money to buy a phone that expensive. It worked for me using a BlackBerry Classic from 2018-2019, then an Unihertz Jelly Pro which is the most challenging 2.4" screen, lastly I used the Unihertz Titan Pocket which I had the same problem as you seeing long texts, but the pros is that it has a QWERTY keyboard that doubles as a scroller and you can set shortcuts for every letter with one or two presses, plus if you use the launcher you could set other buttons for other apps like the power button (not only for flashlight). Unfortunately something happened to it so its stuck on needing a flash Partition so now I use an iphone for the online stuff and a Nokia 6300 2.4" screen a KaiOS device to use outside. Good luck in your journey! ❤ 7:39

@kentv999 5 ай бұрын

Great video! Love the thoughtful content. Incredibly high production, quality, separates this content from the masses. Great job!

@michaelmarcano9200 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for letting us go on the ride with you, LOVE YOU BECCA!!!!

@markgreenwood7487 5 ай бұрын

I'm only here for Becca content. It's always informative, so keep it coming!

@lesliegraham8478 5 ай бұрын

Had a great year watching your content, thanks! A happy and productive, healthy new year to you🙂

@CannedLaughter00 5 ай бұрын

Have a glorious 2024. Watching your vids is always so full of positive energy I feel like I'm getting a review and therapy session

@azyrael96 5 ай бұрын

What a video to start the year on, well done!

@DojoOfCool 5 ай бұрын

Happy 2024 and I enjoy all your videos.

@bzboy01 5 ай бұрын

Great little piece, made me think how I am truly controlled by my phone! Thats strange saying (writing) it loud! I enjoy watching all your video pieces and think that you do a great job reviewing cameras and enjoy watching you talk about photography and taking pictures! Will continue to watch whatever content you make in 2024 (now). Happy New Year ….

@janheard6701 2 ай бұрын

I have the Flip 5 and am going to try this. Not sure what prompted this video suggestion but so happy I clicked.

@Zaguzah 5 ай бұрын

What an interesting experiment, Becca!

@maheshbabu-fj3tx 5 ай бұрын

This came out of no where! I was just recently thinking about getting a flip for my next phone.

@disco_bard 5 ай бұрын

That sign off - all the good feels - yay Becca

@prashantkompella5372 5 ай бұрын

Great video! your videos have always been a fab to watch.

@themediagrail 5 ай бұрын

I could listen to Becca all day. The knowledge and the way her videos flow.. Please make more content in 2024! More Becca please.

@asan1050 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for the review!

@viteksvoboda 5 ай бұрын

Becca, you do such a good job! Thanks for the video

@JosephZakhary 5 ай бұрын

I just watch the verge now for Becca. Great reviews with the best smiles!

@borkwoof696 5 ай бұрын

This is very tempting

@smithskyes 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for making great insightful content.

@manaspawar3749 5 ай бұрын

This was such a fun video. Great video Becca. I've set up screen time of half hr for insta and I've noticed myself feeling a lot better already. Damn it'd be nice if it was possible to just not be addicted to your phone but this device is made to be addictive so we need learn self control anyways great concept. I think I prefer the motorolla flip phone (but I'm aware it takes noticably worse photos).

@mukhtar__ 5 ай бұрын

much love, Bud !

@ReavoEnd 5 ай бұрын

Great vid! FWIW, Razr Plus solves all those weird "why not this?" behaviors you were annoyed by on the Z Flip 5. Something I do to keep things intentional is remove all the non-essential apps from my home screen. I have a gesture assigned to the search function of my launcher, so I need to type the name of most apps I want to launch. If I can't remember the name in the moment? Moving on.

@JordanLong20 5 ай бұрын

Great concept and execution!

@MattSwain1 5 ай бұрын

I make use of focus modes on iPhone. I have different apps on my home screen for each focus mode which I have switch automatically by time or location. It still requires discipline on my part because the hidden apps are still on my phone but when I’m at work the social media apps are hidden (for example)

@michaelbuckenmeyer4996 5 ай бұрын

Over the past year or so I’ve been trying to be mindful of this. I removed social media apps from my phone (other than KZfaq, which does get some Shorts attention a couple times a day) and exclusively use them on desktop which are way less addicting and rewarding. I notice how sucked in everyone is on their phones frequently. I try to remind myself that sometimes, like me, people are using them for work, navigation, etc, but I also recognize that a lot of it is mindless social media scrolling. Feels bad man.

@hackthis02 5 ай бұрын

I was the same way, the thing that finally got me to lower my social media intake was simply to disable notifications. It's a slow burn but I'd have one busy day and wouldn't check my phone and with no notifications to draw me in, so I'd only check the apps when I remembered, Not when they told me too. As the days/weeks went on it was less and less till now I only really check them in the morning and maybe late at night.

@Johnny_Sunshine 5 ай бұрын

This does help a lot. I disabled most notifications except for the most important ones (messages or emails) and that did wonder for I actually do with my screentime

@KorbensBum 5 ай бұрын

Yep but this should be easier to do. I spend a lot of time setting up permissions and blocking different apps notifications. Maybe Samsung could set up a notifications group policy?

@ronaldcy 5 ай бұрын

"Try another phone for using less of phone" - This doesn't sound anything reasonable to me except - An advertisement !! THANK YOU SAMSUNG FOR SPONSOR THIS VIDEO,

@WaterlessWine 5 ай бұрын

conclusion: we need small phones again

@sachinbhatia81 5 ай бұрын

I am a user since a few months. And I love it

@fefe8onlyou 5 ай бұрын

Great video from Becca as always 👍🏻

@mjc75 5 ай бұрын

Happy New Year, you're the best!

@franciscosusana2292 5 ай бұрын

I tried the launcher app for Android, but definitely the best is to close your social media accounts. I have not used them since then. Becca u are the best!!❤

@diegoeterovic5363 5 ай бұрын

love you!!! your style, the smile! keep it coming

@nicolasvvaillancourt 5 ай бұрын

Much love❤

@elmereicuevas4162 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video! You're a gem!

@arielatomguy 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for making this video. It made me miss my old Motorola Defy MB525 - a "full size" android phone with a 3.7" display (and probably as thick as the Z5 Flip). I certainly hope that genre of phones will return.

@mattvavrichek6536 Ай бұрын

Thanks dude!

@thomas23brown 5 ай бұрын

excellent video!!!! really eager to try one of these

@HarmonicaVasquez 5 ай бұрын

Been doing it with the latest entry moto razer and it has been pretty good at helping with the overwhelming feelings from a slate style smart phone.

@m2n900 5 ай бұрын

you have one + ? I've been doing the same on my razr 5g 2021.. And love it... Specially because I can do it one had.... But... It's only half screen of the + .... So I've been thinking to get one.... If you have one.... How's the experience ? It's my idea or it is a little bigger than the 2021 ? Is not uncomfortable to do it one hand.. ? Thanks

@jjakkad 5 ай бұрын

That's a really cool idea

@glennkennedy441 5 ай бұрын

Happy New Year !!!!!!!!!

@RafaelRoden2024 5 ай бұрын

Maybe the Motorola razr+ would have been the better device to try to do this with as well as allowing yourself to use the full screen for a camera. Just a thought.

@m2n900 5 ай бұрын

@vowe 5 ай бұрын

Becca, you are a star. Keep going. You are hitting the right spot. Rrrrr. 🙂

@francisbayona 5 ай бұрын

Love this video! I want to spend less time mindlessly scrolling in 2024

@jerrycaughron7378 4 ай бұрын

Excellent analysis!.😅😅😅😅

@jamesehanson 5 ай бұрын

great video becca - just added screen time on my social thanks

@BeccaFarsace 5 ай бұрын

hope it helps!

@JayRodge 5 ай бұрын

The gratitude at the end :)

@mattydsmith 5 ай бұрын

Happy new year

@adambenk0 5 ай бұрын

I have bought AW U2 and I put my phone somewhere out of reach and out of sight. Since I am connected to the wifi with the watch all the time, I dont need to carry my phone 90% of the time during the day so it is not tempting me to use it. This helped me to reduce my daily average screen on time to 2h and 30m on my phone. Something similar to your solution. Another thing, I switched to smaller phone, 15 pro because the Max version was just so tempting to use just because of how good everything looked on the bigger screen.

@sayanosis 5 ай бұрын

Happy new year Becca❤

@NathanBudd 5 ай бұрын

I wanted to do this! I want my OG HTC Magic size screen, but modern day internals. It felt great in the hand, but the screen would be too small to look at a lot.

@Djmattarana 5 ай бұрын

Becca, appreciate you.

@TheFreefallExplorer 5 ай бұрын

Moarrr Becca! :D Happy New Year!

@theromanshow 5 ай бұрын

Yeah you’re a natural!

@RolandKoller90 5 ай бұрын

I’ve recently gotten an Apple Watch Ultra 2. It has helped me get off my phone a lot. I even leave the house without my phone. The ultra works really well away from the phone. I’ve got cellular setup obviously. All I have on my watch is calls and texts come through. It’s great.

@levibranan8276 5 ай бұрын

What a sick video. W Beka

@sudoriobraganza1341 5 ай бұрын

I love this channel so much Beca reminds me so much of Casey - so muuuch

@talisabolins9823 5 ай бұрын

Love to see Becca back on my screen ! ❤

@datvu6 5 ай бұрын

I use focus mode on my iPhone, set the wallpaper to black, silent notifications, choose only essential apps and rearrange them to different location from my regular mode.

@davidemarcello5700 5 ай бұрын

Focus mode on iOS. You can create a Custom Focus and customise the home screen of it. You can also decide which apps are allowed to send you notification for each Custom Focus

@KorbensBum 5 ай бұрын

I like this. I had a Samsung fold and it was great except I was always on my phablet. I've moved to a very capable Samsung S8 Ultra with the s23 phone. I'm still at a loss though. I want a smaller phone but I dont want to give up the camera or battery life. I go out exploring on my bike and could be out all day. When I return to camp I can view / edit my content on my tablet. I think there are a lot of people in a similar position that want their phone to have: 1) good camera 2) great battery life 3) be a tether for other devices like tablets, watches, drones etc 4) be non intrusive. 5) provide more control over what we see and when we see it.

@pvndavibes 5 ай бұрын

I wanted to do the same thing and be intentional with my social media use and the way I'm doing it is with the apple watch ultra. Now that it has such a good battery I can completely leave my phone in another room and with the watch having cellular I can leave my phone at home as well. It has helped my life tremendously. Just don't forget your earbuds if you only have your watch on you.

@gusbur 5 ай бұрын

@BeccaFarsace, I couldn't find iOS developer features that could shuffle the position of all your Apps... But you could try rearranging apps like this, everyday: 1. Hold one app to start jiggling 2. Move the app slightly to a different position 3. While holding this app, with another finger, tap other apps you want to move 4. It will create a stack off apps that you can drop anywhere 😉It's much faster to move and it "kind of shuffles" your home screen. Great tip, btw, already did on mine! Congrats on great content!!

@kizanko 5 ай бұрын

I think a good idea to see your messages or whats covered by the key keyboard is if they have a button you long press on the keyboard so it lowers its opacity till its not visible and when you let go it's back. It's much better than the keyboard pushing the messages up and down, and disorienting your view. And maybe by holding the button if you move your finger up and down it will scroll up and down. And if you move left or right, the cursor will move through the letters or something.

@kevin_kaslana6077 5 ай бұрын

I love Becca content ❤

@ljacobs357 5 ай бұрын

Great job. I use my Z Flip 5 cover screen about 70% of the time. Rarely need to open the phone. You can change the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi settings by including the Settings app when installing Good Lock. Like you, mystified when the Contacts app can't be used.

@Johanneslol11 5 ай бұрын

Interesting video, I do try to limit my screen time to. It’s just difficult to find ways to do so.

@amirtyz 5 ай бұрын

You're awesome

@amirshokouhi3126 5 ай бұрын

More videos like this pls, connecting tech to our lives rather than talking specs and pixel density

@interditado 5 ай бұрын

i love becca and all her reviews

@taylorstein3402 5 ай бұрын

Love this video, Becca - I've been on the same journey for all the same reasons, just with an Apple Watch Ultra. I'd be interested to see a video of you doing this with the watch instead? I can replace my phone almost completely, especially since I can text on my MacBook. Or, just a person to person suggestion. Cheers to 2024!

@celwise 5 ай бұрын

Great video, love the feel of it... she's awesome... good awareness for our addiction... lol

@scavenger6607 5 ай бұрын

Dear Becca, its time to share your music playlist.

@BeccaFarsace 5 ай бұрын

👀👀

@patera83 5 ай бұрын

App randomizer… funny idea!!

@sulistiyoraharjo9276 5 ай бұрын

I feel you, Becca, currently I'm trying to avoid doom scrolling on my handphone, and yes I did screen time also, but since I know the password, I can easily unlock the screentime on my iPhone, so I uninstall social media apps and use Google News to catch up, and if I need to open social media, I open it through Safari, but opening social media on mobile web has a lot of limitations (especially TikTok) so with your video, I am excited about how you are experimenting with Samsung Z Flip as a minimalist phone, sadly I'm trapped with the Apple ecosystem, but who knows maybe I can switch to Samsung because of this, thanks Becca

@Dr.S3psis 5 ай бұрын

As someone whose phone has been switched off for a while now. The thing that allowed me to do this was an apple watch with cellular on it. AND more importantly the will power to steer clear of using that thing. None of the apps or screen times work if your will power doesnt.

@ricardorehlander348 5 ай бұрын

Great

@f1ggyc 5 ай бұрын

I feel like this might also work well with a super-small regular, phone, that are non-folding so more durable and much cheaper. There are a few that exist but the clear standout is the Unihertz Jelly Star, it's a 3" 16:9 screen though, so really even smaller than the Z Flip and even more of a pain to type on. And I will admit the software support is lacking vs a Samsung - I wish major manufacturers did small phones again!

@donpham8901 5 ай бұрын

Fun video! I have no tech in the bed and use a google mini for alarms. Only tech I am allowed to use is a kindle so if I stay up late at least I’m reading a book.

@publicwc 5 ай бұрын

Now that the Clicks keyboard case it out I realize this would be a perfect phone for that

@Jarvis2077 5 ай бұрын

I also have the feeling you stated. I decided to reduce my phone time to 3 hours daily from previous 6 sInce the 1st. What I noticed is I get sad and quite annoyed when I see my friends on their phones all the time. I'm not trying to judge but "keep your phone down it's not that bad IRL". 😅

@lizzam 5 ай бұрын

As an Android user, the app drawer actually could reduce my app use time by just removing it from the homescreens. The habit is still there, but greatly reduced. Perhaps having the need to open the phone, open the drawer, search for the app and then start to doomscroll, would add another friction layer, but it's an additional cost to downgrade. I would rather add a 7-pin requirement to open any of those doomscrolling apps.

@deRykcihC 5 ай бұрын

yeah using app drawer is a good suggestion, the fact that you can't see notifications count after the first thing you get into the phone really reduce the urge to click in. Another way is to use iOS with blank home page and only using their app drawer, cuz their app drawer is so messy a lot of people is bothered to even go in, and iOS notification center is so messy that for me I don't even go to read them.

@lizzam 5 ай бұрын

@@deRykcihC iOS has an app drawer?