I started my KaiOS journey with the 8110, then 2720, and have used Energizers to Alcatels to other more obscure models over the last 1.5 years. I'm somebody who dislikes carrying a smartphone immensely and the privacy and security of data are very important to me.
At the start of this journey, I wanted a phone that wouldn't leave me stranded and wouldn't be distracting and draw me to pull it out every five seconds. Kai OS seemed like the obvious choice, but ultimately I'm not going to continue with it.
After all this time, I can chalk Kai OS' downfalls to three specific areas:
KaiOS is totally unreliable as a basic phone- calls constantly don't come through, or it lags and crashes while ringing, answering, or hanging up. The Nokia 2720 is especially bad for this but all the devices I've tried suffer too. The contacts and messaging apps also lag and crash constantly. In fact, just navigating the OS can be a slow, frustrating process, even just to check messages or look at a contact, etc. A basic phone should have a battery that lasts a week or at least a few days, but this is only the case in giant rugged Kai devices. My 2720 lasts less than a day with Google or Whatsapp sync.
In terms of acting as a PDA, it's no secret that the calendar is broken, especially with online sync, and the alarm clock fails to ring most of the time as well. There's no decent note-taking functionality, file-browsing, or limited audio format support.
The "Smart" functionality is also lackluster (as it perhaps should be, though in scope, not quality). The web browser is poor even by my super-retro Samsung Tocco Lite's WAP standards. It really is abysmal and hardly fit for purpose. I will admit, this may be because the internet is a bloated garbage heap, in general, these days. Maps and Assistant are the shining light here, because they work darn well, at the expense of, you know, using Google. Adding any kind of synchronized app such as WhatsApp sucks the life and performance right out of every Kai device I've had. I care less about apps (this isn't a smartphone), but the Kai store is full of poor-quality apps and is chock full of advertisements (including some disturbing ones). Again, I care less about this, or rather I would if the base OS had better basics. Finally, the hotspot is actually really great and works very reliably, all except for the horrible battery drain during use.
At the start of this journey, I wanted a phone that wouldn't leave me stranded and wouldn't be distracting and draw me to pull it out every five seconds. Kai OS seemed like the obvious choice, but ultimately I'm not going to continue with it.
After all this time, I can chalk Kai OS' downfalls to three specific areas:
KaiOS is totally unreliable as a basic phone- calls constantly don't come through, or it lags and crashes while ringing, answering, or hanging up. The Nokia 2720 is especially bad for this but all the devices I've tried suffer too. The contacts and messaging apps also lag and crash constantly. In fact, just navigating the OS can be a slow, frustrating process, even just to check messages or look at a contact, etc. A basic phone should have a battery that lasts a week or at least a few days, but this is only the case in giant rugged Kai devices. My 2720 lasts less than a day with Google or Whatsapp sync.
In terms of acting as a PDA, it's no secret that the calendar is broken, especially with online sync, and the alarm clock fails to ring most of the time as well. There's no decent note-taking functionality, file-browsing, or limited audio format support.
The "Smart" functionality is also lackluster (as it perhaps should be, though in scope, not quality). The web browser is poor even by my super-retro Samsung Tocco Lite's WAP standards. It really is abysmal and hardly fit for purpose. I will admit, this may be because the internet is a bloated garbage heap, in general, these days. Maps and Assistant are the shining light here, because they work darn well, at the expense of, you know, using Google. Adding any kind of synchronized app such as WhatsApp sucks the life and performance right out of every Kai device I've had. I care less about apps (this isn't a smartphone), but the Kai store is full of poor-quality apps and is chock full of advertisements (including some disturbing ones). Again, I care less about this, or rather I would if the base OS had better basics. Finally, the hotspot is actually really great and works very reliably, all except for the horrible battery drain during use.