Every night is girls’ night with HMD’s Barbie phone

I grew up during a very interesting age in technology. I’ve seen the evolution of the cellphone into the smartphone we all know and love today. I remember getting the Motorola V60i, my first cellphone, back in middle school to use while out with friends. During my formative years, the now vintage cellphone was a big part of my life. It allowed me to communicate and pass the time. I long thought the days of T9 texting and playing Snake were behind me as I got my hands on the iPhone 4S and never looked back. At least until I started using HMD’s Barbie phone.

Throughout the year, I kept up with HMD’s Barbie phone. This Mattel-licenced Barbie Phone is reminiscent of early 2000s Nokia devices. This retro flip phone has taken me back to middle school and early high school days when phones didn’t have access to social media, content creation tools, and a plethora of ways to have a coffee delivered to my front door. The HMD Barbie Phone is a blast from the past, spattered in hot pink, bedazzled jewels and stickers.

HMD’s Barbie phone is a break from modern smartphone luxuries

There’s a discernable trade-off in not having access to social media

HMD’s Barbie phone is right in line with retro devices. It retains that classic clamshell flip phone-style design. With that comes the removal of all modern software and support. The Barbie phone is a bare-bones package. It features a 2.8-inch main display and a 1.7-inch display on its clamshell exterior, surrounded by a reflective surface. It offers a modest 5-megapixel rear camera. With only 512GB of RAM and running Qualcomm’s 215 processor, you’re looking at a device that might as well have been ripped from the clutches of 2003.

In its marketing leading up to its October release, HMD positioned the Barbie phone to be a device to “disconnect” from “distracting apps.” This includes not having access to X (formerly Twitter) or doomscrolling on TikTok. There’s something quaint about not opening up my phone on impulse and slogging through each social media platform, catching up on the latest bad news. With minimal app access to Calendar, Email, Snake, and Google Maps. Instead of Spotify, I’ve been brought back to having integrated MP3 player support to load my favorite tracks. That does mean you’ll be entirely disconnected from the larger bubbles of your smartphone ecosystem. HMD’s Barbie phone runs KaiOS, and is outside the Android ecosystem completely.

However, abandoning contemporary software and specs comes at a cost. With an archaic camera at your disposal, there’s very little reason to shoot photos or capture video on the Barbie phone. Unless you’re going for a vintage low-res style, you’ll likely be disappointed in the grainy and poor contrast from most photos.

The phone also operates on T9, so I had to brush up on my skills. I was nervous at first, especially having to type in my Wi-Fi password. Thankfully, after a few digits, muscle memory began to kick in. Once I was set up, I fired off some texts just to prove to myself I still had the skill.

The novelties of the Barbie phone lie in the IP

Everything that makes the Barbie phone unique comes from its license

HMD’s phone wouldn’t be all that noteworthy in 2024 without its part partnership with Mattel. The Barbie license giveaway to a robust array of novelties and on-device features. The Barbie phone ships in a large box full of accessories to customize your phone with. Alongside the base phone and branded case, you receive two extra Barbie-inspired back covers, stickers, gems, and a beaded lanyard to attach to the phone. While not traditionally something I care about or look for from a phone, it’s hard to argue that it’s not fun to customize the look of your device.

The Barbie influence also extends into the on-device experience. Even when turning on and activating the cellphone, custom Barbie audio plays over the speaker. There’s an entire Barbie-inspired UI on the device as well. The Contacts menu icon is the iconic side profile image of Barbie. The Gallery app is a Malibu-esque icon and Messages even show text bubbles between the iconic character and Ken. Even the alphanumeric keyboard has small Barbie-inspired icons imprinted on it. If all of that wasn’t enough, they went ahead and baked a Barbie-themed version of Snake. While none of these are necessarily selling features, it’s more about the sum of its parts. A full-blown nostalgic Barbie experience is what you’re buying into.

Did HMD’s Barbie phone arrive too late?

I’d be remiss to not think about the reception to this phone in 2023

The fandom around Barbie feels timeless. There’s a never-ending cycle of kids becoming attached to the dolls and greater IP, growing up and feeling nostalgic for Barbie. Because of that, I think HMD’s Barbie phone will always have a niche audience. However, I can’t deny that the audience for this phone would have been exponentially larger had it launched last summer.

In the throes of popularity with Greta Gurwig’s Barbie film, the zeitgeist for the IP was at an all-time high. I could only imagine the waves of fans heading into the theaters with their HMD Barbie phone last summer. But alas, die-hard fans can now purchase a branded cellphone for $129.