The Phone With Fewer Features

Summary

Episode Summary: "The Phone With Fewer Features"

Podcast: WSJ Tech News Briefing
Date: November 25, 2025
Host: Julie Chang (WSJ)
Main Guests:

• Ben Cohen (WSJ Science of Success columnist)
• Joanna Stern (WSJ Senior Personal Tech Columnist, WSJ Tech Live Host)
• Kai Wei Tang (Co-founder & CEO, Light)
• Aaron Paul (Actor, Producer, Entrepreneur; "Breaking Bad" star and Light Phone fan)

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Overview

This episode tackles two timely tech topics:

1. How the Flighty app uses advanced data to outpace airlines on flight alerts—a game-changer for holiday travelers.
2. A lively panel on the minimalist, "anti-attention economy" Light Phone, with insights from its creator and celebrity advocate Aaron Paul, exploring why a smartphone with fewer features might be the tech many crave.

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Segment 1: Flighty – Outsmarting the Airlines on Flight Tracking

[00:19–04:37]

Key Discussion Points

• What is Flighty?

  • Flighty is a live flight tracking app that provides real-time delay updates, cancellation alerts, and comprehensive flight info.
  • Born out of founder Ryan Jones’s own frustration when stranded at an airport [01:20].
  • Enjoys surges in downloads during periods of air travel chaos—a recent example being the FAA's mandated traffic reductions.

• Data Power Behind Flighty

  • The app aggregates high-quality data from both private and governmental sources like FlightAware and the FAA [02:35].
  • Data is funneled into proprietary models, reporting changes to users—often before the airlines do.
  • Why Faster?
    • Airlines don’t prioritize rapid dissemination of flight status; Flighty does.

• Limitations & User Base

  • Flighty is Apple-only (no Android support), frustrating some potential users [03:39].
  • Its popularity in a complaint-prone sector (travel) signals strong utility.

• Business Model & Profitability

  • Offers both a free limited tier and a $59.99 annual subscription (also available week-to-week or month-to-month).
  • Became profitable after initially struggling through pandemic-era air travel disruptions [04:06].

Notable Quote

• Ben Cohen on Flighty’s Uniqueness:
  “They will tell you what's going on with your flight, often before the airlines themselves. ... that is the priority of Flighty. It's not the priority of airlines to tell you everything they know as fast as humanly possible.” [02:35]

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Segment 2: The Light Phone – The Anti-Attention Smartphone

[05:42–11:49]

Key Discussion Points

• Introduction to the Light Phone

  • Light, founded by Kai Wei Tang, produces a phone designed as a "Swiss army knife": calls, texts, directions, alarm, podcasts, camera—no social media, FaceTime, or infinite scrolling [06:20].
  • Not a “dumb phone,” but a simplified device: "The point is not going back in time. It's more about moving forward ... a simplified smartphone ... without the need to maximize engagement." – Kai Wei Tang [06:38]

• The Philosophy: Escaping the Attention Economy

  • Tang argues tech should “empower human beings” by minimizing time spent on the device, freeing users for activities that bring genuine happiness.
  • Aaron Paul’s Personal Take:
    “Honestly I feel healthier mentally, I feel happier ... I think there's just way too much information we're drowning in constantly. I don't think we're meant to have that.” – Aaron Paul [07:14]

• Role of Minimalism & Intentional Use

  • Tang: Phone should be a tool, like a hammer or jacket—each for a specific job, not an ever-present distraction.
  • “For some reason, the last 15 years ... it just has to be smartphone, same thing, look the same ... why can’t we design something that actually helps humans do things quickly?” [07:37]
  • Activities like practicing piano, making oil paintings, or spending time with friends should dominate over "swiping for an hour" with no fulfillment.

• Consumer Habits & Modern Contradictions

  • Paul mocks the endless smartphone upgrade loop: "Anytime the new iPhone comes out, they get it that week. ... I have that phone, we call it Swampy ... I don’t need a new phone always, you know what I mean?" [08:27]

• The “Anti-Social Media Phone”?

  • Tang confirms: Light is not anti-technology, but anti-engagement-maximization; it aims to return tech to its role as a tool, not a source of addictive behavior.
  • Memorable analogy: “I don't swipe my hammer for five hours... Technology tools [are] supposed to be tools that empower human beings.” [09:25]

• Features and Firm Principles

  • The Light Phone 3 includes essentials: maps, messaging, music.
  • Tang draws a “clear line” for features—three guiding principles:
    1. No advertisements
    2. Every user interaction has a clear ending
    3. No infinite feeds or endless scrolling [10:47]

• Larger Tech Critique

  • Calls for all tech—AI included—to be designed for user fulfillment, not corporate engagement metrics.
  • “We should look into how this tool makes money, whether or not that tool aligns with my goal in life to be happy, to be fulfilled, to hang out with my family.” – Kai Wei Tang [11:24]

Notable Quotes

• Kai Wei Tang:
  “It's not a dumb phone in my opinion. It's a simplified smartphone ... without the need to maximize engagement. That's what I think the root cause of the problem ... is attention economy.” [06:38]

• Aaron Paul:
  “Not having my smartphone around and just really going light. Honestly I feel healthier mentally, I feel happier.” [07:14]

• Kai Wei Tang:
  “The technology tools [are] supposed to be tools that empower human beings. ... I don't swipe my hammer for five hours.” [09:25]

• Kai Wei Tang’s 3 Principles:
  “Number one, I'll never show our user advertisement. Number two, every interaction a user take has a clear ending ... Number three, I will never show you infinite feats. Nothing to scroll, nothing to mindlessly swiping for no reason.” [10:47]

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Memorable Moments & Timestamps

• Ben Cohen reveals Flighty's Apple-only limitation: [03:39]
• Aaron Paul jokes about his rescued “Swampy” iPhone: [08:27]
• Tang’s hammer analogy for technology as a tool: [09:25]
• The Three Guiding Principles for the Light Phone: [10:47]

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Conclusion

This episode explores the growing demand for tech that empowers rather than overwhelms. From the data-driven magic of Flighty keeping travelers a step ahead to the Light Phone’s radical stance against the “attention economy,” it showcases the rise of consumer desire for genuine utility, clear boundaries, and mental well-being in a noisy digital world.

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For further listening:
Check out the full Joanna Stern conversation with Kai Wei Tang and Aaron Paul at the [WSJ Tech Live Conference] (link in episode show notes).

Transcript

[A]

Organizations all over the world, from banks to breweries, are creating custom apps and AI agents on the Outsystems platform because Outsystems is all about outcomes, helping teams deploy quickly and deliver results. Build your agentic future with Outsystems.

[B]

Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Tuesday, November 25th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal. As you prepare for holiday travels, there's a flight tracking app that's managing to notify flyers about del and cancellations well before the airlines themselves. We'll take a look at how it all works. Plus, is it time to roll back the clock on smartphones? Actor Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad fame seems to think so. He recently joined a WSJ Tech Live panel on minimalist tech. We'll hear part of that conversation later in the show. But first, flight tracking app Flighty somehow regularly manages to beat airlines when it comes to alerting passengers for FL delays and cancellations. The secret to this seemingly impossible feat? Data. That's according to our Science of Success columnist Ben Cohen, who has been relying on the app for his own travels and joins me now to explain how it works. So, Ben, tell us about Flighty and how it came about.

[C]

Flighty is the world's most popular flight tracking app. It is an app that is a live flight tracker, but also does a whole lot more than that. It gives you delay updates and cancellation alerts and tells you basically everything that you could possibly want to know about any flight that you might take. And amazingly, it actually came about during a flight delay. Ryan Jones, the founder of Flighty, was stuck in an airport Chili's in Fort Lauderdale on New Year's Day in 2018. He was there for four hours when he decided that enough was enough and he was going to build exactly the product that would have allowed him to avoid the mess that he was in. And so ever since 2018, he has been building out Flighty, and every time there is chaos in the skies, they get a surge in downloads. And so the past two weeks, after the FAA mandated a reduction in air traffic across America, a lot of people turned to Flighty to find out exactly what was happening with their flight and how they might be able to navigate themselves to avoid chaos and make traveling just a little bit less miserable.

[B]

So it seems like data is a really important part of this app. Where does Flighty get all its data?

[C]

You're right. So they pay for the best data they can find. And what Ryan Jones says is if you have good data, we will go out and get it. So There are lots of data providers, everything from private to government, FlightAware to the FAA. They get data from around the world. And what they do is they have evaluated that data and they feed all that data into their own models and so that they can figure out what is happening with your flight. And the thing that makes Flighty really unique and what a lot of people get the most value from is that they will tell you what's going on with your flight, often before the airlines themselves. You might think, like, that's impossible. Like, how is this private app getting you this information before the company that you are asking to ferry you across the sky in this gigantic tube? What Ryan Jones says is that that is the priority of Flighty. It's not the priority of airlines to tell you everything they know as fast as humanly possible. They have a lot of other stuff they have to worry about.

[B]

Okay, but no app is perfect. So did you come across any cons or issues with using it?

[C]

So the biggest issue actually is about who can't use it. It is only available on Apple and not Android. So after writing this column, I heard from a lot of people on Android saying, when is it going to be available on Android? And also, why did you write this column when it is only available on Apple? But I do think it's like a pretty good sign of an app's utility when it's in the travel space where people really love to complain. And the biggest complaint they get is that more people can't use it.

[B]

Is Flighty profitable?

[C]

They are profitable. So they were like barely above break even for the first few years, especially because Covid like shut down travel and really was a huge disruption. But they are profitable since then. It's also important to note that there's a free version of the app with limited features and then you have to pay 59.99 for an annual subscription. Or you could pay week by week or month by month, which if you don't travel all that much and you want to use it, you could turn it on for the when you are traveling and then cancel it when you are not traveling and then churn and come back right again the next time you get on a flight.

[B]

That was WSJ Science of Success columnist Ben Cohen. Have you tried using flight trackers? If you're a listener on Spotify, be sure to let us know in this episode's poll or leave us a comment with your flight tracking strategy. Coming up, A phone with no social media apps or FaceTime, why the maker of a stripped down smartphone is betting you'll want one with fewer bells and whistles. That's after the break.

[A]

So many organizations choose Outsystems because it's an outstanding way to quickly deploy apps and AI agents and deliver results. A top US bank deployed apps for their customers to easily open new accounts on any device. We helped a leading global insurer quickly deliver a portal and app for their employees, while a global brewer developed an app to automate tasks to clear Bottlenecks. OutSystems, the 1 AI powered low code platform.

[B]

Would you ditch your smartphone for one with fewer features? That's the radical idea behind Lite, a company founded on the belief that the constant battle for our attention has turned smartphones into an addiction. At this year's WSJ Tech Live conference, Wall Street Journal senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern sat down with Kai Wei Tang, co and CEO of Light, as well as actor, producer and entrepreneur Aaron Paul, best known for his work in Breaking Bad, who happens to be a vocal fan of the product. Here are some highlights from that conversation.

[D]

Let's show the phone real quick just so people have a good sense of what this can and can't do. Kai, you're going to show us your phone.

[E]

Happy to. This is the Light Phone 3. It's designed to be your Swiss army knife tool, right? It's aluminum frame, replaceable battery with a 50 megapixel camera. We're trying to give people all the essential tools that you need during the day. Making a phone call, text message direction, alarm clock, podcasts, but which strip away advertisement, data collecting or attention economy. The point is not going back in time. It's more about moving forward. Forward from here. It's not a dumb phone in my opinion. It's a simplified smartphone that offer you all the modern tools but just without the need to maximize engagement. That's what I think the root cause of the problem of our technology is attention economy.

[D]

You both have embraced this lifestyle. What do you feel like you've gotten back from it?

[F]

Oh man, I mean I gotta tell you, not having my smartphone around and just really going light. Honestly I feel healthier mentally, I feel happier. I don't know, maybe it's ignorance is bliss, but I think there's just way too much information we're just drowning in constantly. I don't think we're meant to have that.

[E]

I guess we're also not trying to ask people to give up technology and live in a cave. I'm trying to say that we always have different tool to do different things. You have a Big SUV to drive to pick up a lot of stuff. You have city driving car, different shoes, different jacket. But for some reason the last 15 years, when it comes to phone, it just has to be smartphone, same thing, look the same anyway, app store all the same. And I don't know why can we design something that's actually help human do things quickly? So I could go back to practice. I don't know, pianos or oil paintings that makes me happy. Or hanging out with your friends and family that actually make you happy versus swiping for an hour and you feel horrible about it. Yeah, it's just like, why are we keeping keep doing that.

[F]

I have friends that anytime the new iPhone comes out, they get it that week. It's like, why, why do you have to get a new phone? Always the phone, the smartphone. Because I do have a smartphone still, but I mainly use my light phone. But you know, I of course I facetime my kids when I'm away working. But the iPhone I have, I had an iPhone stolen from me in London a few years ago. And the phone that I still have was a phone that my buddy dropped in a swamp that he just left there in London. And I found a rake like three days later and I grabbed it out of the swamp for him to surprise him. He's like, oh, I already got a new phone. And then he's like, you can just keep it. I was like, oh, great. So I have that phone, we call it Swampy. But I don't need a new phone always. You know what I mean?

[D]

When you think about all the things you've added to the light phone, it really seems to me like it's really the anti social media phone, it's not the anti smartphone.

[E]

Yeah, I mean Aaron said the same thing. But we been saying that we're not as a company, we're not anti technology. I wanted to understand how this technology tools are making money and I want to design in a way like how we design Hammer screwdriver rulers. I know I have hammer somewhere in my house. When I need to use it, I'll get it out, I'll do that thing. And I don't swipe my hammer for five hours. So that Hammer company, like why are we doing that? The technology tools support supposed to be tool that empower human beings. So we do things quickly minimize our interaction with app or technology, but do that things for me so I could go back to hanging out with my friends. And that's supposed to be the purpose of technology. I think fundamentally the attention economy really ruined that for me. When we start Lightfone, it's not about I wanted to like, you know, try to be innovative or something. I just, I want to use modern tools without someone trying to maximize my engagement. I just want to use this tool so I could get a taxi home. That's it. That's all I want.

[D]

But over time, I mean, now the Light Phone 3 does quite a bit more right. There's maps on it, there's messaging, music. It feels like you got to draw a line somewhere.

[E]

The line is really clear to us, our company. I'm happy to keep designing and creating utility tools, but we have three principles. Number one, I'll never show our user advertisement. Number two, every interaction a user take has a clear ending. For example, you want to get a direction from A to B. We will never get you to B. And when you get to B, this action ends. Nothing else. Number three, I will never show you infinite feats. Nothing to scroll, nothing to mindlessly swiping for no reason. I want everything to be intentional. That's the principle. How we redesign smartphone into the next generation of technology. Large language model AI, I think should be the same thing. We should look into how this tool make money, whether or not that tool align with my goal in life to be happy, to be fulfilled, to hang out with my family. And we design accordingly.

[B]

That was WSJ senior personal Tech columnist Joanna Stern speaking with Light CEO Kai Wei Tang and actor Aaron Paul at this year's WSJ Tech Live Conference. You can find the full chat linked in our show notes. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. If you're a listener on Spotify, be sure to take this episode's poll or leave us a comment. Today's show was produced by me, Julie Chang with supervising producer Katie Ferguson. We'll be back later this morning with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[A]

So many organizations choose outsystems because it's an outstanding way to quickly deploy apps and AI agents and deliver results. A top US bank deployed apps for their customers to easily open new accounts on any device. We helped a leading global insurer quickly deliver a portal and app for their employees, while a global brewer developed an app to automate tasks to clear Bottlenecks. OutSystems, the 1 AI powered low code platform.