Using a Galaxy Z Flip 5 as a minimalist phone

I hated how much time I was spending scrolling on my phone. And the idea that I’m wasting my time wasn’t even what was bugging me — I do loads of things that aren’t good uses of my time. What bugged me was that I was unconsciously and habitually scrolling. And most of the time I couldn’t even tell you what I had been scrolling through.

I thought about switching to a minimal phone, like the Light Phone, with its slow screen and limited functions. But I knew that completely giving up things like Gmail or Slack on mobile wasn’t possible for me. And I didn’t want to wipe out social media completely, I just wanted my use of it to be more intentional. What I needed was a fully functional smartphone, just a somewhat less usable one.

So 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.

See also

This week’s trailers offered twists on familiar genres