Phones we recommend

Six simple phones, ranked.

We've tested all six in real UK homes over the past year, working alongside the families we help through the switch. Prices are checked at three UK retailers. The order is ours, not the retailers'.

Last updated: 22 May 2026
Phones in this list: 6
Affiliate links?: Yes, on the buy buttons. How we choose.

HMD

Nokia 3210 (2024)

From £75

Our first recommendation for almost every family. It looks like the phone your child's friends will think is cool, which matters more than parents often admit.

Our verdict. We have given the 3210 to two of our own and recommended it to roughly forty other families. It is the right first phone for most of them. The cool-factor matters in week one. The battery matters in month one. The lack of apps matters in year one.

What it's good at

Looks the part. Choose grunge black or scuba blue.
Three full days of battery without trying.
No web browser, no social media, no app store. By design.
A 3.5 mm headphone jack. Sometimes the small things.

Where it falls down

T9 texting takes a couple of weeks to feel natural again
The 2 MP camera is purely functional

Battery: Three days of normal use. A week on standby.
Weight: 105 g
Network: Unlocked 4G with VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling
Camera: 2 MP rear, proof-of-life pictures only
What stands out: FM radio, MP3 player, the original Snake

Where to buy

Argos from £79 Amazon UK from £79 HMD direct from £89 Mobiles.co.uk SIM-only bundle from £79

Read the full review of the Nokia 3210 (2024) →

Punkt

Punkt MP02

From £295

The grown-up pick. The MP02 looks like a serious object. Older teenagers, parents leading by example, and a quiet number of grandparents.

Our verdict. The Punkt is what we hand to teenagers who already have a smartphone and want a step out. It is also the phone we buy our parents. The design is the point. Once you have held it, the case for "basic phone" stops feeling like a downgrade.

What it's good at

Feels lovely in the hand. Built like Swiss watchmaking, not Shenzhen knockoff.
Signal Messenger is the one messaging app, encrypted by default.
Acts as a 4G hotspot for a laptop in a coffee shop.
Designed by Jasper Morrison, which you can feel before you can see.

Where it falls down

Three hundred pounds is a lot of phone for a ten year old
No camera at all, which some families want for proof-of-life

Battery: Twelve days on standby. Charge twice a week.
Weight: 88 g
Network: Unlocked 4G, USB-C fast charge
Camera: None
What stands out: Signal Messenger built in. 4G hotspot. Jasper Morrison design.

Where to buy

John Lewis from £295 Punkt direct from £295 Amazon UK from £309

Read the full review of the Punkt MP02 →

HMD

Nokia 235 4G

From £40

The starter pick for under-tens, and the no-fuss phone for anyone who genuinely does not want anything beyond calls and texts.

Our verdict. The 235 is the right phone if the kit needs to do calls, texts and almost nothing else. We recommend it most often as the first phone for an eight year old who is now walking to school. If you want a phone with a bit more personality, jump to the 3210.

What it's good at

Forty pounds. Lose it on a school trip and the world does not end.
Three weeks of standby battery. We are not exaggerating.
No browser, no apps, no music store.
Built-in torch is unreasonably useful.

Where it falls down

Looks like a phone from 2010 because in spirit it is one
Camera is so basic you may as well not have it

Battery: Three weeks on standby. Honestly.
Weight: 85 g
Network: Unlocked 4G
Camera: Basic VGA
What stands out: Genuinely cheap. Replace without tears if lost.

Where to buy

Argos from £39 Amazon UK from £40 HMD direct from £45

Read the full review of the Nokia 235 4G →

Pinwheel

Pinwheel Plus

From £279

For families who need a smartphone-shaped device but want a hard boundary on what runs on it. The portal lets you whitelist apps from a curated list. There's a monthly subscription for the Caregiver Portal.

Our verdict. We list Pinwheel because we are asked about it constantly. We do not lead with it. If your child genuinely needs a smartphone for a school or health reason, this is the safest version of one. If they don't need a smartphone at all, the Nokia 3210 is a better answer.

What it's good at

A genuine whitelist, not just usage limits
Locked-down browser and locked-down app store, by default
Tracks location, contacts, screen time inside one portal

Where it falls down

It is still a smartphone shape, which sends the social signal we are usually trying to avoid
The £13.99 monthly subscription is the real cost
The whitelist is curated, so not every school app is available straight away

Battery: A day and a half. Standard smartphone.
Weight: 189 g
Network: Unlocked 4G/5G
Camera: 50 MP rear, 8 MP front
What stands out: Caregiver Portal whitelists every app and contact.

Where to buy

Pinwheel UK from £279

Read the full review of the Pinwheel Plus →

Light

Light Phone III

From £399

Quiet, minimal, slow on purpose. The Light Phone III ships from the US, which means import VAT and a longer wait. For the family who is sure this is right and is willing to pay for it.

Our verdict. We love the Light III as an object. We recommend it sparingly because the wait and the cost matter for most families. If you have read every word of After Babel and you are buying for yourself, this is the one.

What it's good at

Looks and feels designed, not manufactured
The E-ink screen reads like paper, even in sun
Tools (maps, music, podcasts) without the algorithm

Where it falls down

Imported from the US, with the customs and wait that implies
The £399 cost is a real commitment
Updates have been slower than the Light team predicted

Battery: Two days of light use. Charge nightly is realistic.
Weight: 124 g
Network: Unlocked 4G
Camera: Basic, deliberately
What stands out: E-ink display. Tools, not apps.

Where to buy

Light direct from £399

Read the full review of the Light Phone III →

Apple, refurbished

Refurbished iPhone SE (3rd gen)

From £169

The fallback for parents who have decided a smartphone is the answer (often because of a specific school or medical reason) and want the cheapest, longest-supported route in.

Our verdict. We list this because we will not pretend smartphones are never the right answer. If your family is going to land on a smartphone, a refurbished SE on a £6 SIM is the version we would buy. Back Market gives you a year's warranty and a thirty-day return.

What it's good at

Refurbished from £169 makes the financial event much smaller if lost
Screen Time is the most useful parental control system we have used
Apple supports older iPhones longer than any other manufacturer

Where it falls down

It is still a smartphone, with all that implies socially and algorithmically
Refurb stock varies week to week

Battery: A day, with normal teenage use
Weight: 144 g
Network: Unlocked 4G/5G
Camera: 12 MP rear, 7 MP front
What stands out: Apple Screen Time, Family Sharing, Find My. The most well-developed parental controls on the market.

Where to buy

Back Market UK from £169 John Lewis refurbished from £189

Read the full review of the Refurbished iPhone SE (3rd gen) →

How we ranked these

In order: battery life in days (not adjectives), real UK retail availability today, the parent-controllable trade-offs, what the audience tells us about which one their child actually wants to be seen with, and price. We re-test the top five every quarter. If a phone drops off the list, we say so and why.

We've not been paid by any of these retailers to write what's above. We will earn a small commission if you buy through one of the buttons. See the affiliate disclosure for the full programme list.

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