Light was born as an alternative to the tech monopolies that are fighting more and more aggressively for our time & attention. Light creates tools that respect you. Objects that empower you to be your best self. Technology intentionally designed to be used as little as possible. Things that serve you, not the other way around.
Light was founded by Joe Hollier and Kaiwei Tang, an artist and product designer who met in a Google experimental program in 2014. They were encouraged to make smartphone apps and taught on a deeper level how and why different products were being built and funded. It became obvious that the last thing the world needed was another smartphone app fighting for our attention. The interests and nature of these ad-driven platforms will never align with our actual quality of life.
In May 2015, we launched our first Kickstarter campaign for the original Light Phone, your phone away from phone. It represents an experience we call going light. It’s a way to enjoy quality time away from the pressures of the smartphone, doing whatever it is that you love to do the most, maintaining the peace of mind that you are still reachable.
The reaction was strong and polarizing, and we hit on a fascinating conversation that was emerging and is still growing exponentially today. The ripple effects of our current relationship to technology cross into almost every aspect of our lives.
In January 2017, we began shipping the original Light Phone. It was truly inspiring to see the variety of different ways our users incorporated the Light Phone into their lives. We learned a lot! We also believe in the power of going light more now than ever before. Many of the active Light Phone users had the feeling that they'd like to go light more often, or for good really, and that got us thinking about the Light Phone II.
In March of 2018 we launched a campaign for the Light Phone II. It's a more reliable and practical phone than its predecessor. The Light Phone II can actually replace your smartphone for good by bringing a few essentials like messaging, an alarm clock, and a roadmap of future tools that will make it even easier to avoid reaching back for your smartphone. We created a custom ‘light’ operating system using a black and white matte e-ink display. The Light Phone II has begun shipping, and we're excited to share our new phone with the world. Breaking free from a smartphone is a life-changing experience, in our opinion.
The Light Phones are just the beginning of Light.
Sincere thanks for spending some time with our project.
