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It's about a year late, but the Barbie Phone is finally here. This is not a smartphone, but a clamshell-style feature phone that's all pink and branded with Mattel's Barbie logo. The handset has a shiny mirror on the front and a host of accessories like charms and gem stickers to trick it out so you can fully bask in that late 1990s and early 2000s nostalgia. It even blurts out, “Hi Barbie,” when you power it on.
This is a real collaboration between Mattel and HMD, the company that used to make Nokia-branded smartphones. It's part of HMD's pivot to crafting its own smartphones along with feature phones developed in partnership with notable companies. That includes the Boring Phone from earlier this year, born out of a weird tie-in with Heineken.
The Barbie Phone runs KaiOS, an operating system designed for feature phones that adds a few smartphone capabilities, like 4G connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, and access to apps including WhatsApp, Google Maps, and YouTube. It'll still feel like you're using the Symbian operating system from Nokia phones of old, just with modern amenities. That said, HMD says since it's running the latest version of KaiOS 3.1, not every app will be compatible or available yet.
By default, HMD's new flip phone can make calls and send texts. The company is on a bit of a crusade about reducing screen time and distractions, so the idea is to use this phone as a second phone when you don't want to be pinged while kicking it at the beach with the Kens.
HMD is hardly the first to build a product around this concept of unplugging from the always-on life. There have been a few like-minded phones over the years, like the Light Phone or the redesigned Palm from 2018. Of a similar mind are the app timers and other screen-time reduction features that have been built into Android, iOS, and even the feature phones HMD made under the Nokia brand name, like the Nokia 3310.
Think Pink
The outside of the Barbie Phone's lid has a reflective finish that serves as a mirror (remember the LG Shine?) with a hidden digital clock embedded in the middle. Flip it open and you get a nice 2.8-inch display. You can use the built-in backlit keyboard to text, and there are a bunch of tiny Barbie-themed tidbits here and there, like the palm tree icon around the number 7. And by my count, six Barbie logos—whether it's the full text or just the letter B.
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It's powered by Qualcomm's 215 chipset, has 512 megabytes of RAM and 4 gigabytes of storage with support for microSD cards up to 32 gigs in size. Yes, you can use it as an MP3 player and groove to “I'm Just Ken” via Bluetooth or the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. HMD claims the 1,430-mAh battery—which is also pink—offers a talk time of roughly 3.8 hours in 4G (6.3 hours in 3G), but it's hard to say what that translates to in regular use. It recharges via USB-C with, you guessed it, a pink charging cable.
The unboxing experience is supposed to be like unboxing a Barbie. It's not just the phone but two spare back covers to swap in different styles. There are stickers and adhesive gems to bedazzle each of these phone covers, plus a beaded lanyard and a few charms to dangle off the device. Cute. Even the microfiber cleaning cloth is pink.
The operating system is naturally Barbie-themed, complete with Barbie wallpapers and a Malibu Snake version of the iconic Snake game. HMD is currently working on a “Detox Mode” for its smartphones that enables finer control to disable apps and notifications at certain times of the day or night. While the Barbie Phone won't get this, it does have an app that offers tips on “digital balance.”
It's got a 5-megapixel camera, which HMD is positioning as the way to capture “authentic Y2K-style images, which is the latest trend amongst GenZers.” I nearly threw up.
The Barbie Phone goes on sale October 1 for $129, and it will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Preorders start on September 23, so you'll have some time to choose whether you want a new iPhone 16 or this all-pink dumb phone. Probably both.
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