This Android phone is so bad I couldn’t review it

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

I ca n’t brush up the Punkt MC02 . I went into it quite excited , as I liked thePunkt MP02 ’s unique style . I expect to treat the MC02 like any other smartphone by putting my SIM card inside and using it every Clarence Day to assess whether it was a twist worth purchasing . But this privateness - first phone does not make lifespan easy , and although I ’d be happy to put in the effort with the software if the ironware was really nerveless and enticing , regrettably , it is a serious letdown at every turn .

There ’s a opportunity I ’m not quite as security department - focused as the MC02 ’s intended audience , but if that also describes you , then you should come near this phone with a very undefendable mind , a cracking deal of patience , and very low expectations . This is why .

A person holding the Punkt MC02.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

What is the Punkt MC02?

The Punkt MC02 has Android 13 ( yes , in 2024 ) installed , but it strips off the interface you find on aGoogle Pixel 8 , for instance , and replaces it with AphyOS ( base on GrapheneOS ) and the Apostrophy ( sic ) Services . Described as “ an ecosystem of good and unafraid communications , ” it includes an email app ( Thunderbird ) , a calendar , a labor app , and a strong and private way to put in data point and contacts . Yes , it ’s another one of those recession secure phones , and wewent into detail about the software at CES .

The websitesays AphyOS and the Apostrophy Services keep you good and wo n’t share your personal data for use of goods and services in ads while protect your datum , and the system stores it all under Swiss jurisdiction . It does n’t explainwhythis part is a good matter , but harmonise to a spry search , Switzerland may provide some additional concealment benefit for data entrepot . Or it could also be clever merchandising . The phone also has a Virtual Private web ( VPN ) called Digital Nomad , which I could expend to plug in to server in Germany , Japan , and the U.S. from the U.K. to mist my locating and activity .

While Punkt and AphyOS do n’t apply your data to monetize advert , it does charge you a subscription fee . You get a year of access to Apostophy Services with the phone , but after that , it cost about $ 13 per month if you signal up for a twelvemonth or nigh $ 17 per calendar month if you opt a pay - as - you - go good deal . This is a picayune more thana normal VPNon its own , and the subscription comes with 5 GB of cloud storage space . However , if you do n’t yield , you wo n’t have admittance to all the Apostrophy Services , and the MC02 loses what makes it ( somewhat ) special .

The Digital Nomad VPN app on the Punkt MC02.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The telephone set itself is a rather uninspired dim slate with a 5 grand connection , a 6.67 - inch 60Hz screen with a 2400 x 1080 pixel solution , a MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor , and 6 GB of RAM . It also has a 64 - megapixel main camera along with an 8MP full - angle and a 2MP macro tv camera . The 5,500mAh battery supports 18W rouse , there ’s a fingerprint sensor in the power key , and a 3.5 mm earpiece jack on the top of the 10.9 millimeter thick , 230 - gram body . It ’s yours for $ 749 .

Not an inspiring start

That ’s about it for the explanation of what the Punkt MC02 is : another expensive entry into the whole privacy - focused smartphone musical genre andyet another monthly subscriptionfor you to contemplate . If that still go interesting , know that the telephone call for some serious consideration if you ’re fare directly from Google or Apple ’s world and require to bring data with you , and it is a massive hardware compromise if you ’ve have any mid - to - high degree smartphone over the last few years .

Starting out , you have to register for an AphyOS story on another gadget before setting up the Punkt MC02 , as it ca n’t be done on the earphone itself , but it does n’t really make that exonerated . Also , if you decamp past this , I could n’t find a way to fructify up the AphyOS account , meaning you ’d have to reset it and bug out again . For a phone that push concealment and security , it was also a surprise to complete the very short setup process without setting a fingermark detector or a PIN codification , provide the phone entirely loose for anyone to habituate unless you manually go into the options app and add one .

But before you do that , the notification shade is full of horrific warnings about scheme processes that have n’t been completed due to missing or out - of - particular date file . Clearing these is a lengthy process in itself , but when you eventually visualise it out ( the software program does n’t provide a guide ) , you also find it does n’t establish the camera app by default , but as I ’ll come back to in a while , it ’s perhaps not really deserving it . The start - up process did n’t fulfil me with confidence , and the MC02 felt half - finished and speculative to rely on .

A person holding the Punkt MC02, showing the white homescreen with standard apps.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Once you ’re in , there are two house screens — one with a fateful background that contains the private AphyOS stuff and another with a ashen desktop that holds the “ less unassailable ” apps . The icons have anAndroid 6.0look to them ; everything is monochrome , so it look like things are n’t installed , and it ’s all super dull . There ’s an app called the Aphy Store , which may or may not be an app memory . I ’m not certain , as it has n’t beendesignedat all , just throw off together . I ’d show you all this , but the normal screenshot gesture of mightiness - and - intensity - together does n’t work , nor does a long imperativeness on the home screen to show additional configurations . All in the name of privacy , I suppose .

A smartphone without Google

Google Mobile Services are n’t put in by nonpayment , but Punkt does include a frame-up genius to aid get them onboard , terminated with warning about all the “ risk of infection ” involved . Apps downloaded from Google Play after it has been set up are “ sandboxed ” on the white home screen to protect you . Coming from any other phone , you will have to find manual ways of importing all your information , contact , message , photos , passwords ( the software program seems to handicap Chrome ’s Password Manager , too ) , and everything else , as there ’s no way to do it automatically .

It was at this point I had to make a pick . I need easy , reliable , fuss - free access to inter-group communication , historical messages , data saved in bill apps , and even some images for everyday aliveness on my phone . By choosing to amply survey the Punkt MC02 , I ’d have to find way to dependably get all this over from another phone and not occupy I may miss or lose something in the process that I ’d suddenly necessitate in an emergency . Remember , if you ’re coming from Google or Apple ’s ecosystem , you ’ll have to consider this too . It ’s certainly not unacceptable , but it is time - go through and will require enquiry , confidence , and a willingness to take losing thing in the process .

There ’s not much fun in AphyOS . Its grim spirit does n’t inspire me to chute through hoops , download special apps to change information , or regain ways of assure I still have access to everything I demand when I only have the Punkt MC02 in my pouch . Perhaps I ’ve been spoiled by Android and Apple frame-up processes over the year , but absolutely nothing about the MC02 ’s software or the early experience made me feel it was a extremely dressed and reliable scheme for me to practice . What should I do ? Perhaps the ironware could convert me to put in all the effort to make the MC02 my one and only telephone set .

A person holding the Punkt MC02, showing the black homescreen with private apps.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The hardware is bad, too

The Punkt MC02 is thicker and heavier than theSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultraand theXiaomi 14 Ultra , yet the technical spec is inferior . All that privateness and security measures must beseriouslyweighty . I loved Punkt ’s minimalist innovation on the MP02 , but this has none of the character or appeal . The plastic rearward panel has a scratchy , sleazy ending , but it ’s not an uncomfortable earpiece to hold — just entirely faceless to count at . The MediaTek Dimensity 900 C.P.U. is fast enough when play games ( the phone does n’t sync game saves with Google Play Games , no matter how much I tried ) , but a bit creaky when using the software in general , suggest the operating system of rules is n’t well optimise .

Then , it set out to get plaguy with some bizarre decisions . join the power and volume buttons is another button on the diametric side of the body . It does n’t do anything at all when you press it , not even prompt the appearance of a menu . However , if you cut into into the options and Accessibility bill of fare , you ’ll find an option for the Program Key . preposterously , all it can be configure to do is activate Airplane Mode . That ’s it . It does n’t even turn it off again , so you have to do that in Quick preferences anyway . It ’s a ridiculous use for a hardware push , as it would be very well-off to accidentally ferment the feature on , leaving you entirely uncontactable . I presuppose thatispretty private , though .

It develop bad . I know it ’s all about keeping your datum safe , but the screen should n’t be so dense that I can barely see it alfresco when I want to . It ’s also unforgivable that it only has a 60Hz refresh rate and that there is no always - on feature . The 64MP main tv camera is very basic and take substandard exposure , and is hobbled by a poorly designed app , where the wide - angle circumstance is permanently obscure in a More options menu under the viewfinder , and you have to employ the same menu to reselect the standard view . It ’s a terrible8MP broad - slant cameraanyway , so I ’ll save you the time searching for it like I did . The photographic camera app feels like a beta adaptation , as not even the zoom level rotates when you turn the phone from portrayal to landscape painting .

The Punkt MC02’s camera app.

Camera appAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

No thanks, I’ll pass

Nothing about the Punkt MC02 ’s hardware made me desire to empower the metre and effort postulate to import all my datum . I see some will find the concept of a privacy - oriented phone appealing , but not only is the MC02 ’s software a compromise due to its design and implementation , but the ironware scantily reaches the story seen on some of thecheapest smartphones usable . I ’d much rather expend and enjoy theNothing Phone 2aand add a VPN to it , for representative . Yet the whole affair costs a banging $ 749 , and then up to $ 17 per month to utilize the “ benefit ” after the first year . Insanity .

Even after spending the daylight trying to warrant why I should pass hour make indisputable the MC02 ’s package was ready for me to seriously apply every day and be instantaneously contactable in a way that made me feel well-fixed , I still could n’t come up with a compelling cause . If what I consider fundamental feature on a high - price smartphone in 2024 — a bright silver screen , 120Hz refresh rate , an always - on feature film , a decent tv camera , H2O ohmic resistance , and an sympathetic design — are all missing , then wrangling software that does n’t feel or look refined or at sentence evenfinishedis all unappealing .

I can do infinitely better than the Punkt MC02 by using just about any other phone I ’ve review over the preceding two or more old age . “ Oh , but you obviously do n’t prise your privacy , ” advocates will scream . Perhaps not , but I do value my metre and — potentially — my money too .

A photo taken with the Punkt MC02.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Punkt MC02 , based on my prove to get to the point where it ’s a twist I can actually , confidently utilise , and amply brush up , is deserving neither .

A wide-angle photo taken with the Punkt MC02.