Nothing has partnered with Mumsnet, the UK’s largest online community of parents, on a safety-focused smartphone for teenagers dubbed the Other Phone.
Described as “the safest phone for children on the market,” the Other Phone is essentially a Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro pre-installed with SafetyMode Plus, a software package that blocks inappropriate on-screen content in real-time and lets parents control app access remotely.
In the UK, the Other Phone costs £279 upfront, then £5.99 per month for SafetyMode Plus. For reference, the standard CMF Phone 2 Pro costs $279 / £249 / AU$509, which we described in our CMF Phone 2 Pro review as “an incredibly low price for a phone this good.”
The current publicly available specs for the Other Phone include a 5,000mAh battery, 8GB of RAM, and a “four-camera system”, and given that the device is described as a CMF Phone 2 Pro on its official website, it likely sports the same MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G chipset and 6.77-inch AMOLED display as Nothing’s budget phone (though we’ve requested clarification on whether the Other Phone is in fact identical to the CMF Phone 2 Pro).
As mentioned, we do know that, by default, the Other Phone runs SafetyMode Plus rather than Nothing’s Nothing OS software, and the former is designed to mimic the minimalist (read: addiction-preventing) approach of a dumb phone.
However, it’s also worth noting that SafetyMode – which supposedly uses AI to identify and block harmful content like bad language and nudity – can be disabled at any time by the parent account, reverting the Other Phone to a Nothing OS-powered device (“it’s a phone that can grow up with your child,” Mumsnet notes).
The same caveats apply to that aforementioned app control, which allows parents to set schedules and time limits for specific apps, limit their access to the internet, or block access altogether. This control, too, can be lifted in its entirety when the time is right.
In other words, the Other Phone is a CMF Phone 2 Pro with a removable layer of protection on top, which (you’d think!) makes it a more attractive proposition for teenagers than a phone whose guardrails are fixed in place.
And make no mistake: both parents and today’s teens are aware of the dangers of excessive smartphone use. Research conducted by HMD earlier this year found that, of 12,000 teens surveyed, over half said they’re worried that they may be addicted to their phone, and 52% said they’ve been approached by a stranger online. 53% said they’ve seen something they wish they hadn’t – which for most respondents was sexual or violent content – and 56% said they’ve seen instances of bullying.
Mumsnet, meanwhile, found that, of 510 parents surveyed, 77% said keeping their child safe online feels like an impossible task. Like the HMD Fuse, the Other Phone arrives with the aim of reducing those bleak numbers – but getting kids to switch from the best iPhones and best Samsung phones is easier said than done.
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axel.metz@futurenet.com (Axel Metz)
