- Cheap
- USB-C charging
- SOS button
- Unintuitive UX
- Barely there camera
When was the last time you could honestly say you were living in the moment? Phone away, just raw-dogging life, no compulsion to check your WhatsApp, scroll Instagram or indulge in brain rot through whatever TikTok’s algorithm is feeding you that day.
It’s an idyllic prospect, not far from reality with the likes of the Aspera F50. An Australian-made feature phone or more colloquially a “dumb phone”, the Aspera F50 eschews the bells and whistles of the modern smartphone in favour of something simpler.
The Aspera F50 is one of the cheapest feature phones available on the market and can best be described as the “phone you'll want to buy if you don’t want to use your phone”.
Utility first, aesthetics second
Smartphones seem to get bigger and bigger each passing year and every iteration. Dumb phones have more or less stayed the same. The F50, is just a little guy. With its flip phone form factor, the F50 sits neatly in the palm of your hand when closed. The plastic casing feels durable enough for any minor mishaps.
It has a 2.4-inch display at the top with a single speaker, at the bottom there’s an array of large-sized buttons. You've got your standard numeric keypad buttons, as well as three buttons for programming speed dial, a flashlight button, a split up-down button, call button, and end call button. The latter three are responsible for much of the navigation on the F50 with the up-down buttons for moving through menus, the green call button for confirming actions and the red end call button for going back.
While the F50 is simple in theory, basic functions simply take too many button presses to execute. On a smartphone, I can send a text with around four taps. On the Aspera F50 it took at least nine presses not including typing the message. Interface-wise you’re relegated to an inbox and outbox system instead of one ongoing thread per contact when texting. Each new message comes through on its own which means carrying on a conversation is taxing. Just calling someone is far easier.
On the front of the clamshell when closed you’ll find the 2MP camera, the light for the flashlight plus three indicators: one for new mail, calls and charging. On the back, there’s the SOS button and two more speakers. The SOS button primarily serves one target market for the phone. It can be programmed with five numbers so that when the button is held down those five contacts are alerted with the first one also called. If no numbers are programmed Triple Zero is set as default. You can also disable it entirely if you wish.
The 2MP camera takes photos, just. It serves well enough to snap a photo of a note or sign to remember for later or to send in a message. It performs best in bright settings. It might suit those who enjoy a 2000s aesthetic. Video is the same. I’m convinced you could shoot a low-budget horror film à la The Blair Witch Project entirely on the Aspera F50 and it would feel authentic.
Aspera F50 camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Aspera F50. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
Just the basics
The F50's 1,000mAh battery holds up for a few days usage on standby and with minimal use. I did find it ran down faster while it was actually in use but it's a difficult phone to benchmark given its lack of battery-draining games and social media. The phone is charged via USB-C (which is surprisingly modern) and you get a cable, brick and charging base included in the box. The charging base is handy for folks who might be more likely to misplace their phone, this lets you treat it more like a home phone in a cradle. However, I did find the fit was a little loose for my liking, even the slightest change in positioning could cause a misalignment of the pins and I'd come to find the phone hadn't been charging at all.
In addition to the SOS feature and torch the Aspera F50 also has a few of the other basic tools you might expect on a phone (smart or dumb) including an alarm, calendar (just for looking you can’t add events), calculator, timer, stopwatch etc. It has an FM radio and even has Bluetooth. With no aux-port, I figured I might at least be able to enjoy the radio. While my Bluetooth earbuds were able to connect it only allows you to pass through calls and some media. The radio unfortunately still plays through the speakers. I did get to listen to classics like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “Billie Jean” from Smooth 95.3, and it really matched the vibe. However, this was in part because every time I tried to tune in to another station it brought me back to that one.
The Aspera F50 is notable because its a feature phone with 4G VoLTE capability, meaning it will withstand the looming shutdown of Australia’s 3G networks. Vodafone’s network has already been shuttered with Telstra and Optus to follow later this year. It's estimated that there are still tens of thousands of handsets being used that won’t work once the networks are shut down entirely. The Aspera F50 could be a great budget tie-over to compensate for that.
Aspera F50 - Final Thoughts
If you think how about how far phones have come then the Aspera F50 is certainly a throwback. It's rough around the edges in some frustrating ways.
It might not be right for the older loved one in your life given it's not the most intuitive handset to use. But it might suit someone who wants a cheap phone just to make the occasional call, or if you want to have a low-key evening when out of the town. Just remember the number for 13 CABS. You won’t be able to order an Uber home.
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Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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