The Minimal Phone 2, an unusual smartphone that combines a modern Android-based system with a physical keyboard, is gaining strong interest during its Kickstarter campaign. The company has now announced an upgrade to the phone’s memory configuration, raising the standard RAM capacity from 8GB to 12GB.
Minimal co-founder Youkhna announced the change on X on August 27. According to the company, every standard Minimal Phone 2 order will now ship with 12GB of RAM instead of the previously announced 8GB. The limited Founders Ember Edition is also receiving an upgrade, moving from 12GB to 16GB of RAM.
The memory increase comes as the crowdfunding campaign approaches the $1.7 million mark, highlighting the interest surrounding a smartphone that takes a very different approach from today’s conventional touchscreen flagships.
Minimal Phone 2 Crowdfunding Passes $1.68 Million
The Minimal Phone 2 launched on Kickstarter on August 11, with an initial starting price of $599.
At the time of writing, the campaign had raised approximately $1,682,618, equivalent to around $1.13 million in Chinese yuan based on the exchange rate cited by IT Home.
The campaign’s performance suggests that there is still demand for smartphones designed around a more focused user experience rather than simply offering larger displays and increasingly powerful hardware.
The physical keyboard is one of the phone’s defining characteristics, giving the Minimal Phone 2 a distinctly different identity from mainstream Android devices.
Compact Design With a 90Hz OLED Display
Despite its keyboard-focused design, the Minimal Phone 2 is not built like a traditional feature phone.
The device measures 122.6 × 72 × 9.48mm, giving it a relatively compact footprint compared with many current smartphones.
The standard model will be offered in Onyx Black and Pearl White, while the Founders Edition comes in an Ember Orange finish.
On the front is a 3.92-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 × 1240 pixels and a 90Hz refresh rate.
The display is paired with a 20MP front-facing camera, while the rear camera system uses a 50MP main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture.
The relatively small display is clearly part of the phone’s design philosophy. Rather than maximizing screen area, Minimal has built the device around physical input and a compact form factor.
Dimensity 8300 Provides the Processing Power
The Minimal Phone 2 is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8300 chipset.
While the device is not positioned as a conventional gaming flagship, the processor provides substantially more performance than the hardware found in basic minimalist or feature-oriented phones.
The phone also comes with 12GB of RAM as standard, following the latest company upgrade. Users who purchase the Founders Ember Edition will receive 16GB of RAM.
The extra memory could be useful for users who regularly switch between applications, particularly because the phone runs an Android-based operating system rather than a highly restricted feature-phone platform.
Minimal OS Is Built Around Android
The Minimal Phone 2 runs Minimal OS, a custom operating system based on Android.
This approach gives the phone access to the underlying Android ecosystem while allowing Minimal to create its own interface and software experience.
That distinction is important.
The Minimal Phone 2 is not simply an old-fashioned keyboard phone with a few modern components. It attempts to combine the flexibility of Android with a more deliberately constrained hardware and software environment.
For users who find modern smartphones too distracting, the concept could be particularly appealing.
3,000mAh Battery With Wired and Wireless Charging
The phone contains a 3,000mAh battery, which is relatively small compared with many modern Android smartphones.
However, the smaller battery needs to be considered alongside the phone’s compact 3.92-inch display and overall design philosophy.
The Minimal Phone 2 supports 27W wired charging as well as 15W wireless charging.
Wireless charging is an interesting addition for a device of this size and helps the phone retain some premium conveniences despite its unconventional design.
Actual battery endurance will ultimately depend on software optimization, display usage, network conditions and individual user habits.
Connectivity Is Surprisingly Complete
Despite its compact dimensions, the Minimal Phone 2 includes a broad selection of connectivity features.
The phone supports:
- Bluetooth 5.4
- NFC
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Dual-SIM functionality
- Physical SIM + eSIM
- Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Dual speakers
- Dual microphones
The inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack is particularly notable as the port has disappeared from most mainstream smartphones.
The device also features a USB-C 3.2 port with support for DisplayPort output and USB-C audio.
That gives the Minimal Phone 2 considerably more flexibility for external accessories and displays than its minimalist appearance might suggest.
A Smartphone Designed Around Physical Input
The biggest question surrounding the Minimal Phone 2 is not whether its specifications are competitive with mainstream smartphones.
They aren’t intended to be.
Instead, the product is aimed at people who want something fundamentally different from a large touchscreen phone.
The physical keyboard is the central part of that experience.
For users who frequently write messages, emails or notes, physical keys could provide a more tactile typing experience than an on-screen keyboard. At the same time, the compact OLED panel retains access to Android applications and modern smartphone functions.
This makes the Minimal Phone 2 an interesting hybrid: part modern Android smartphone, part productivity-focused keyboard device.
The RAM Upgrade Makes the $599 Package More Attractive
The move from 8GB to 12GB of RAM without changing the announced starting price is one of the more meaningful updates to the Minimal Phone 2.
At $599, the phone is not inexpensive for its category, particularly when compared with mainstream Android devices offering larger displays and more advanced camera systems.
Increasing the standard memory configuration gives the device a stronger specification on paper and could improve its long-term usability.
The Founders Ember Edition’s upgrade from 12GB to 16GB similarly gives early supporters a more substantial hardware configuration.
However, RAM alone does not determine real-world performance. Software optimization, processor efficiency and application support will ultimately play an important role in how the phone performs.
Minimal Phone 2 Takes a Different Route
The Minimal Phone 2 is unlikely to appeal to buyers looking for the biggest screen, fastest charging, largest camera sensors or the latest flagship processor.
Instead, its appeal comes from its unusual combination of features.
You get a 3.92-inch 90Hz OLED display, a physical keyboard, MediaTek Dimensity 8300, 12GB of standard RAM, a 3,000mAh battery, wireless charging, Android-based Minimal OS and a surprisingly comprehensive connectivity package.
The latest RAM upgrade makes the proposition more interesting, especially for backers who were originally expecting only 8GB.
Whether the Minimal Phone 2 can translate its unusual concept into a genuinely useful everyday smartphone will ultimately depend on its software experience, keyboard quality, battery efficiency and application compatibility.
For now, however, its growing Kickstarter total suggests that there is a meaningful audience for a smartphone that deliberately moves away from the standard large-screen touchscreen formula.