The Light Phone 3 is here with miniature features, massive $799 price tag

What you need to know

• Light’s latest minimalist smartphone, the Light Phone 3, is now available for pre-order.
• Light Phone 3 retails for $799, but is available at a $200 discount during the pre-order phase.
• The minimalist phone features an AMOLED monochrome screen, USB-C, and two cameras.

If you’re looking for a new minimalist smartphone with only the basics, you’re in luck: Light is now accepting pre-orders for the Light Phone 3. It’s not quite a “dumb phone,” with a smart features like navigation, fingerprint unlock, and two cameras, but it doesn’t offer a browser or social media. That, paired with the monochrome screen, is designed to reduce screen time and encourage intentional use of the phone.

Although the Light Phone 3 may be small and limited in terms of features, it’s not exactly cheap: it will retail for $799. Currently, you can pre-order it at a lower price of $599 for a limited time. Light says that it will continue to sell the Light Phone 2 even after the Phone 3 is released, which is available at a much more manageable $299.

The highlights of the Light Phone 3 include a bigger, 3.92-inch AMOLED monochrome display. It’s up for debate whether this is an upgrade or downgrade from the Phone 2, which used a monochrome e-ink panel instead. It’s covered in matte glass that should make the Light Phone 3 easy on the eyes, and simple to view in direct sunlight.

With a Qualcomm SM4450 chipset inside, the Light Phone 3 isn’t a powerhouse — and that isn’t a surprise. It’s equipped with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. There are also nice-to-have features like a fingerprint sensor, NFC, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, and eSIM support, even if they all aren’t functional at launch. For instance, digital wallets aren’t supported, but could be in the future.