Dumb Phone (dp) vs Passing Thoughts
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dumb Phone (dp)
Transform your iPhone into a minimalist device by replacing distracting colorful icons with simple buttons for essential apps. Create custom launchers for different contexts and utilize Detox Mode to block non-essential applications, helping you break digital habits and regain focus.
- Minimalist launcher creation
- Customizable app launchers
- Detox Mode for app blocking
- Dark and Light minimalist styles
- Control Center widgets for quick switching
- Reduces digital distractions
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Turn your iPhone into a Dumb Phone. Dumb Phone™ lets you create your very own minimalist-style phone on iOS. Replace colorful app icons, pesky notification badges, and anything that might give you a dopamine hit when you unlock your phone, with simple buttons to open your essential apps - and nothing more. Key features: • Break out of your existing habits Every time you unlock your phone, all you will see is apps that you need, without being coerced into easy distractions from colorful apps on your Home Screen or the App Library. • Create a Minimalist Launcher Select apps and add Dumb Phone widgets to your Home Screen to blend everything together. • Choose your essential apps Select apps that you frequently use, so they are a single tap away. • Style your Home Screen Choose from a Dark or Light minimalist style, by adjusting your wallpaper, background, text, and more, with themes. • Adapt to Liquid Glass changes Reduce the addictive elements of the Liquid Glass Home Screen style, applied in the latest version of iOS. • Create multiple app launchers Create launchers for leisure, work, night time, so you see the most important apps in context to your day. • Detox Mode Create an immersive dumb phone experience by choosing which non-essential apps to block and/or hide on your device, with the powerful capabilities of Screen Time. • Control Center widgets Quickly switch between app launchers from the Control Center with new control center widgets that instantly change your Home Screen. Download the Dumb Phone app today and embrace the full benefits of minimalism, and turn your iPhone into a powerful utility once more. Visit the Dumb Phone app website for more info: https://dumbphone.so/ View our Privacy & Terms at: https://dumbphone.so/privacy https://dumbphone.so/terms
Passing Thoughts
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Your notes stay with you. Transcription, search, and all AI reasoning run on your iPhone, and the app never sends your notes anywhere. Passing Thoughts is the voice notes app that remembers for you. Speak a thought and watch the words appear as you talk; Passing Thoughts saves it instantly, cleans up the transcript, gives it a proper title, and finds it again when you ask. WHAT IT DOES • Capture instantly — words appear on screen as you speak, and the recording is saved first, always. • Read it clean — messy dictation is groomed for readability, with the original transcript one tap away. • Ask your notes — type or dictate a question and Passing Thoughts shows the notes that answer it, in your own words, with the answering sentence in bold. It never writes an answer of its own, so it has nothing to make up. • Ask about time — "What's on this week?" or "What's on my schedule next month?" shows the notes dated in that period, reading "next Tuesday" from the day you wrote it. • Siri, when you want it — record, save a typed note or ask what's on this week by voice. Siri reads your notes out only if you turn on "Siri can read my notes"; it is off until you do. • Stay on top of things — open tasks and pending decisions surface for review, and an optional reminder can nudge you before a decision's deadline. PRIVATE BY ARCHITECTURE No account. No analytics. No tracking. Passing Thoughts has no server and never sends what you record or type anywhere. All AI runs on Apple Intelligence, on-device. Siri can read your notes only if you turn that on; Siri is Apple's, and may use Apple's Private Cloud Compute to answer. HONEST BY DESIGN Passing Thoughts never pretends. If a note is too long or not in English for AI features, it says so with a quiet label. Ask shows only your own notes, and when none of them answers, it says so instead of guessing. Requires iOS 26. AI features require Apple Intelligence.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Passing Thoughts at none against Dumb Phone (dp)'s 10. Dumb Phone (dp)'s advantage is iOS requirement (16.1 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dumb Phone (dp) sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Passing Thoughts asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dumb Phone (dp) ships an update fortnightly, Passing Thoughts weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dumb Phone (dp) | Passing Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (3.9K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3.9K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 375 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Tigas | CALIN AURELIAN GRECU |
Bugs and requests
Dumb Phone (dp)
Reported bugs
3 issues- Widget not appearing in list
- Apps opening through Shortcuts app
- Compatibility issues with older devices
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to hide App Library
- More widget customization options
- Customizable widget labels
- Detox mode for specific apps
- Support for more third-party apps
Passing Thoughts
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dumb Phone (dp)
- Dumb Phone Pro (1 month)$2.991 Month
- Dumb Phone Pro (1 month)$3.991 Month
- Dumb Phone Pro (1 month)$5.991 Month
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- Dumb Phone Pro (1 year)$9.991 Year
- Dumb Phone Pro (1 year)$12.991 Year
- Dumb Phone Pro (1 year)$14.991 Year
- Dumb Phone Pro (1 year)$19.991 Year
- Dumb Phone Pro Lifetime$24.99
- Dumb Phone Pro Lifetime$29.99
- Dumb Phone Pro Lifetime$49.99
Passing Thoughts
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dumb Phone (dp) free?
Is Passing Thoughts free?
Do Dumb Phone (dp) or Passing Thoughts have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dumb Phone (dp) or Passing Thoughts?
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