The Substitute Phone is a fidget spinner for smartphone addicts

Chances are many Stuff readers will know this feeling. You settle down, and immediately grab your smartphone, to fill the gaping void of terrifying boredom that had threatened to open up during the previous two seconds. Klemens Schillinger recognises such bad habits, too, and seeks to get you through ‘withdrawal’ by way of a phone-shaped object to fiddle with. But unlike the ostensibly similar NoPhone, his Substitute Phones (£TBA) have some functionality of sorts, in that you can perform familiar swipe and scroll gestures on rotating stone beads incorporated into the body. A comfort blanket, then – although perhaps not much comfort if your smartphone dependency stems not from the actions your digits are making, but rather from checking Facebook dozens of times per hour.

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.