I researched and found that there are none with 5G in India. Even in 4G , both the features do not seem to work very well. There is also the size problem: every single phone is like 6.5inch plus.
I can manage with Old iPhones with 5G support, battery and small form factor maybe.
Any pointers?
So basically all dumb phones based on kaios are out of support of whatsapp since last year , so your best bet is getting an android phone and install custom roms
Define - a dumb phone!
Probably non android os like the one jio has jio phone with upi on Bharat os
Thats a feature phone not a smart phone unlike android ios.
Maybe an android phone with some kind of parental lock that you can’t open yourself with only 2 apps allowed is your best bet.
if you’re talking about nokia like dumbphones:
whatsapp will be difficult but a lot of these newer nokias seem to come with UPI
not the usual google pay/paytm/phonepe though, seems to work with some sort of SMS/Calling based service
if you’re fine with getting stuff from international marketplaces, you can try looking at qin f21/f22 from aliexpress/alibaba/ebay
or something like a digno 902kc/903kc from yahoo auctions/mercari
these run android, so whatsapp will work, not sure about UPI as I haven’t gotten my hands on these yet
you can buy an older iphone too perhaps, i’m still using a 2016 iphone se, whatsapp works but UPI doesn’t, apparently you need iPhone XS or later (iOS 17+) for that.
Jio Phone used to be the answer. The support is about to end unsure about the date. There should be a workaround which would allow the same to function if not updated ig. Besides that maybe a rooted version of an android phone would help
I described what wud be a dumb phone , if you have something in mind pls elaborate
The last I used was S23 and it had a good form factor. But I am getting fatigued with constant distraction these phones have. But WhatsApp and UPI are essential. Someone said custom ROM: I used to be into those but they have poor time investment to peace returns.
There are apps but to be honest they are not much help.
for me personally a Dumb Phone is Nokia and Samsung Keypad Features Phone based on Symbian and Java.
Idk why people want 4g in a dumb Phone while the whole point of dumb Phone is to limit the phone usage and only for calls sms and simple tasts with long battery life.
if you really need 4g there are Nokia feature phones but personally I don’t think they’re worth it with their bad OS and no app side loading.
damn I miss side loading .jar file on Keypads 
I don’t know if voice clarity is the same as 5G though..
Why would anyone want a dumb phone though, just curious ?
You can just adb the apps you want and remove rest anyway, in any case I don’t see the point.. just a genuine question
You can go for iPhone 12/13 Mini or iPhone SE 3rd gen, all these have 5G, if you’re okay with older iPhones, as you said in the OP.
Or you can look at something like that CAT flip phone (4G, Android) that someone posted in the TE marketplace a while ago.
Funnily enough it was me only who had posted it and it got sold pretty fast, Tbf if you are looking for minimalist phone it’s pretty much the best option imo or iphone 7 / se2016 but then banking apps need ios 17 + ,I had got one for exams but once exams got over I wanted my gaming back and didn’t feel much use so sold it.
Problem with mini is battery life absolutely sucks have had one before same with se2 atleast on se1 you can’t game watch movies so on it lasts.
I would also suggest redmi go ,it’s 1gb and runs android go or nokia c01 etc as they are slow enough to deter you overusing them but still whatsapp and paytm works .
I bought a BlackZone iLite Pro for my daughter last month for 5K from
I think that it uses a custom Android ROM.
WhatsApp works fine. I even use the Axis Mobile app on this phone. I haven’t made any UPI transactions though.
It’s a little difficult to use with the small screen and once the novelty wears off, it will make you want a phone with a larger screen.
You can find a review of the phone at
I too was looking for a similar phone. could not find any. So decided to remove social media apps. I use 12 mini since I prefer smaller phones and like someone said battery sucks and it does but I am almost always near a charger so its fine.
Hmm problem I had with mini is light ing was hard to find in need so ended up getting android as type c is ubiquitous now even with apple devices but otherwise I loved mini when I had it tbh.
Even I am searching for one to digital detox. You can use lock boxes with timer as well, sadly they are selling big in USA Europe but not present in India where the phone addiction is much more
Is Fonepia Q11 mini 4" available in India ?