Simple Mobile Tools is well-known among Android users for its open source applications that serve as effective alternatives to commercial software. Its app store includes everything from simple contact, phone, and calculator programs to more advanced software like a file organiser and gallery. The company is even developing a camera app that prioritises privacy and simplicity while maintaining a consistent user experience. The company is now attempting to branch out beyond apps and into the very competitive smartphone industry.
Simple Mobile Tools developer Tibbbi revealed on Reddit that the company would be producing a privacy-focused phone soon (via Stadt-Bremerhaven). Specifications and a precise launch timeframe are still unknown. However, we do know that the phone will come with many, if not all, of the Simple apps fully unlocked.
Although there are 22 official program (including Pro and non-Pro versions), there are some glaring omissions, such as a browser and an email client. As a result, the business is asking customers to recommend which apps it should preload in areas where it does not have an in-house solution, as long as the proposals are open source. It also wants to keep its prospective smartphone as bloatware-free as possible, adding only the apps that users have requested.
Ask Andy Rubin and the Essential Phone, or more recently, Nothing, for examples of how difficult it is to get into the smartphone industry as a small firm competing against giants like Apple and Samsung with billion-dollar budgets. Simple Mobile, on the other hand, is not aimed at the common user who understands little about phones. Instead, it caters to a narrow segment of the market, which is controlled by enthusiasts who demand devices that run entirely open source software and apps. It’ll be fascinating to see how it compares to competitors like Fairphone and Pine64, which have comparable offerings.
