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)

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.

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]

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]

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]

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.

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).