By now, a growing number of people are becoming familiar with the shift from smartphones to dumbphones — basic, often flip phone-style devices that have limited features and no access to social media. Maybe even you are considering taking a break from doomscrolling by picking up your own first dumbphone.
However, you might be concerned with just how limited a dumbphone may be compared to a smartphone. What features do dumbphones have? Will you be stranded somewhere without navigation? Unable to access your inbox when waiting on an important email?
The answer depends on the dumbphone manufacturer. Many companies specialize in a device or two with a set amount of features and not much room for flexibility. The problem is, many people are shopping for a dumbphone for different reasons, and many options out there could either be too feature-rich or too limited depending on your purposes.
Sunbeam Wireless has a different approach from most dumbphone companies. We understand that some people may want more features while others want a device that can only make calls and nothing more. This article serves as an overview of each part of the dumbphone spectrum to make your life a bit easier if you are considering a basic flip phone.
Different devices for different lifestyles.
Before we take a deep dive into the features, let’s take a look at the hardware itself.
Sunbeam Wireless has two different flip phone hardware platforms: the F1 Pro and the F1 Horizon. The F1 Horizon is the much improved version of our original F1 series with a larger battery, better durability, and a USB-C charging port. The F1 Pro is a more rugged dumbphone built for water, dust, and drop resistance.
The Horizon is a great everyday phone for the office and general life, while the Pro is more suitable for the workshop or outdoors, built to withstand hard falls and the elements. Both come packed with the same feature levels that are tailored to different lifestyles and preferences.
Get the features you want, and none that you don’t.
Both the Horizon and Pro come in 12 different models that have specific sets of features, so you don’t need to worry about getting stuck with a device that is either too limited or has too many features for your liking. We have developed these feature sets after years of customer feedback, beginning with our original three F1 models.
The result is several different combinations, from fully-loaded models with every feature we offer to very basic talk-only devices that only allow you to make phone calls. Of course, there are many models in between for those who want some but not all the features we have to offer.
We have made sorting for these features as intuitive as possible with a product filtering widget on the shop page. Simply start out by plugging in the features that you consider absolutely necessary (or the ones you definitely don’t want), and the shop page will display those models. For example, selecting “Weather” will only display models that have the Weather feature, and selecting “No Weather” will display all models that don’t have the feature. You can also apply multiple features at once to narrow down your choices.
Let’s take a deep dive into the full range of Sunbeam models by some of the most requested and popular features for our customers.
Dumbphones with email keep you in-sync with your inbox.
You’ve just about had it with the barrage of negativity from social media and some of the addictive habits it forms. Maybe you’ve even tried some of the smartphone apps that allow you to lock yourself out of these apps. But really, it’s only been a half-measure temporary fix. You’re finally ready to get a dumbphone. The only issue is, your work requires you to be quite responsive to emails. Won’t switching to a dumbphone leave you disconnected from your inbox?
Not so with some of our latest Sunbeam models! We recently launched four new models that include a text-only email option. The email feature works with your exiting accounts, and you have the ability to link multiple Google, Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo email accounts. Now you can have the best of both worlds with a dumbphone: freedom from online distractions while never missing an important email.
- F1 Horizon Flip Phones with Text-only Email: Eagle, Falcon
- F1 Pro Flip Phones with Text-only Email: Juniper, Spruce
Dumbphones with GPS navigation keep you on the right path.
When the toothpaste is out of the tube, so to speak, it’s nearly impossible to put it back in. The same could be said for the convenience of certain tools we’ve grown accustomed to with smartphones. While there are many negatives connected to constant access to so many time-burning apps, a browser, and security vulnerabilities in smartphones, the pure utility of certain features can’t be denied. One might say…we’d be lost without certain tools, like GPS.
We are tackling the misconception that dumbphones equal no features head-on by preserving these utilities we’ve come to rely on in several of our models. Stripping away the distractions of smartphones doesn’t mean you’re going to be lost on your next roadtrip with a Sunbeam flip phone. Several of our models come with either or both Here navigation and Google’s Waze app, ensuring that you’re always heading in the right direction.
- F1 Horizon Flip Phones with GPS: Eagle, Falcon, Bluebird, Dove, Cardinal, Lark
- F1 Pro Flip Phones with GPS: Juniper, Spruce, Aspen, Hickory, Maple, Oak
Dumbphones with weather help you plan for the unexpected.
Speaking of convenient tools, it’s hard to imagine not having an instant weather forecast in our pockets. For many people, it’s one of the first things we check after hitting the alarm, so we know how to prepare for the day ahead. Naturally, some potential dumbphone buyers might be worried about losing such a useful tool for the daily routine. And, for people who might want a dumbphone for camping trips so they can enjoy a digital detox, having a weather feature is an issue of safety.
Many Sunbeam flip phones come with a weather feature that includes current weather, forecast details, and hourly weather. More advanced features like an extended forecast and weather radar are available under a Sunbeam Premium subscription (more info below). With a Sunbeam device, switching from a smartphone to dumbphone doesn’t have to mean getting caught out in a downpour unprepared.
- F1 Horizon Flip Phones with Weather: Eagle, Falcon, Bluebird, Dove, Cardinal, Lark
- F1 Pro Flip Phones with Weather: Juniper, Spruce, Aspen, Hickory, Maple, Oak
Dumbphones with hotspot keep your other devices connected.
Detoxing from all the negativity, distractions, and privacy risks that the Internet exposes us to is a great reason to consider a dumbphone over a smartphone. However, what if you find yourself without Wi-Fi and need to do something urgent for work? Using a phone’s data to make a hotspot for other devices like laptops and tablets is another utility that many of us have come to rely on in these situations.
Although Sunbeam flip phones don’t have a browser, many models still have a hotspot feature that allow you to share your data with other devices. It’s a perfect middle ground for those who don’t want to fall into the addicting patterns of reflexively taking the phone out of your pocket to check things in a browser or scrolling social media apps, but still desire the utility of a hotspot for other devices for practical scenarios.
- F1 Horizon Flip Phones with Hotspot: Eagle, Bluebird, Cardinal, Wren
- F1 Pro Flip Phones with Hotspot: Juniper, Aspen, Maple, Cypress
Dumbphones with talk and text-only free you up from distractions.
For many people, switching from a smartphone to a dumbphone is an intentional choice to completely detox their digital selves by cutting ties with every feature other than phone calls and texting. This may be a strict act of breaking bad habits and forming better ones, or could be an adherence to certain low-tech guidelines common in kosher, Mennonite, and Amish communities. While some potential dumbphone users are concerned about what features dumbphones have, this category seeks a pure experience with no features other than the ability to stay in touch with others.
Sunbeam also provides this option of no features other than talk and SMS for those who specifically want as few features as possible. Some of these models have both talk and SMS while others only allow phone calls. Further still, some models have just a few other features in addition to talk and text, like voice messaging, a touch screen, and file manager, but are nowhere near as fully-loaded as the models that have email. In other words, there is a tier suitable for everyone’s personal idea of what a basic phone means to them.
- F1 Horizon Flip Phones with Talk Only: Chickadee, Blue Jay (no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)
- F1 Pro Flip Phones with Talk Only: Cedar, Willow (no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)
- F1 Horizon Flip Phones with Talk and SMS: Swan
- F1 Pro Flip Phones with Talk and SMS: Elm
Sunbeam Premium gets you even more features.
Want even more features? With a Sunbeam Premium subscription, you can unlock additional features, depending on which model you have. For example, if your model has SMS text messaging, Sunbeam Premium gets you a voice-to-text transcription feature. You simply press the message button while entering text and speak, and your message is accurately typed out as text. If your device has weather, Premium unlocks extended forecasts and radar. For models with navigation, you gain an additional point of interest search in the Sunbeam Navigation app.
You can subscribe monthly or annually to Sunbeam Premium and cancel your subscription at any time. For more information, refer to our FAQs.
What features do Sunbeam dumbphones have? As few or as many as you want!
Decoupling from your smartphone will certainly increase your attention, curb a social media addiction, and improve your online security. Different people want to make this transition to different degrees, however. For those who don’t want to go as far as a basic talk-only device, you don’t have to. Sunbeam dumbphones still offer plenty of practical features that you’ve come to rely on for daily life. But for those who do want to cut the digital cord completely, you have that option as well, and there is no shortage of options in between!
Get started today by visiting the shop page, choosing either the Horizon or Pro, and filtering by features to find the best device suited to your needs. ☀
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