Journal

Thoughts on building a deliberate phone

Updates, decisions, and the reasoning behind them.

The case for a physical keyboard

You can't mindlessly scroll with directional keys. Every navigation step is a deliberate choice. The keyboard is the friction.

Why not a dumb phone

Dumb phones fail for one reason: they force you back to your old phone. The competition is the iPhone, not the Light Phone.

Friction, not restriction

Why friction works where restriction fails. The phone can do everything. The difference is what's easy.

Why we are building Kern

Every phone today is optimised for engagement. We're building the first one optimised for disengagement.