Light Phone III Review

Light announced the Phone III in June 2024 and began shipping it to preorder customers in the spring of 2025. Early backers paid $399, later preorders $599 and $699, and the list price settled at $799, which is the number that matters. The change from the Light Phone II is the screen: a 3.92-inch monochrome AMOLED at 1080 x 1240 under matte glass, replacing the E Ink panel that made the II lag on every keystroke.

A physical scroll wheel handles brightness and navigation, a dedicated shutter button fires the 50MP rear camera, which bins to 12MP and takes ordinary snapshots, and a flashlight, NFC, 5G, eSIM and a fingerprint reader round out an aluminium body of 124g. The 1800 mAh battery is user replaceable behind screws and lasts a day or two because the phone does little. The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 with 6GB of RAM runs LightOS, an Android build without Google services or a browser: calls, texts, calendar, notes, music, podcasts, directions as text, a hotspot, and from 2026 an SDK for vetted third-party tools.

The 8MP front camera was disabled at launch. Light kept the Phone II updated for years and is doing the same here. Judged as what it is, a phone built to be put down, it is the best of its kind and priced like a flagship.