The ‘boring phone’: stressed-out gen Z ditch smartphones for dumbphones

Tech sales executive Piers Garrett, 27, says he has a coffee and reads a book in the morning, rather than scrolling through his phone. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

It’s almost enough to make you stop doomscrolling: dull devices are now cool.

The Boring Phone is a new, featureless flip phone that is feeding the growing appetites of younger people who want to bin their smartphones in favour of a dumbphone.