Bricking my phone (Brick review)
As I've discussed before, I have a habit of trying and eventually failing to create a balance between using social media and actually getting benefits from its use. Many people find themselves in the same boat, too. That is clear to anyone, who like me, is constantly advertised a different "dumb phone" every week. The hardware looks genuinely cool, but there's always a feature missing from them that would make it a waste of money for me. But then, I got an ad for the Brick.
The Brick is a gray plastic rectangle that has more weight to it than I'd expect. It has a magnet on the bottom so you can stick it to things like your fridge. The Brick is $59 when not on sale, and I'll wait to give my thoughts on the price later in this review.
What drew me to the Brick was the features being boasted on Brick's website. The Brick has an NFC tag that activates custom modes you create in the app. The first mode I made blocks all my social media apps, and I created another mode only allows messages, the FaceTime app, the camera, and my dictionary app for when I want to focus on reading. The Brick app basically hijack's your iPhone's screentime settings. This way, when you try to open any blocked app while one of your modes is active, there is no easy way to bypass your restrictions. You deactivate modes by tapping the Brick to your phone.
It has only been a few days so an update to this review may be necessary in a few months, but its effect on me is real. I Brick my phone an hour before going to bed, and the next morning, I don't unbrick until I've already done my morning routine-which takes hours, by the way. This means no endless scrolling when I wake up, in between sets at the gym, when I'm doing my cardio, and I don't procrastinate before taking my shower (something I used to do, like a lot).
What I like most about the Brick, though, is the fact that it's compatible with the phone you already have (it works for Androids too). So while you are still receiving a physical product in the mail, this does not have the same environmental impact as buying a whole new electronic device. That is not to say, however, that this product is environmentally friendly as Brick (as of this writing) has not published any details about the type of plastic they use to construct their products, or anything about sustainability for that matter.
The only downside that's occurred to me is that while your phone is Bricked, other devices like an iPad are unbricked, even when screen time settings are synced across devices. This has not been a problem for me since I rarely use my iPad for anything besides watching TV or FaceTiming people, but I can imagine this might be an issue for others.
Another thing I like about the Brick is that you can set schedules for your modes to activate or deactivate automatically, but you don't have to. This is why past attempts with Apple's built-in settings weren't successful for me. I would be forced to cope with a schedule that didn't fit my day-to-day needs. On days that I have little to do, I don't mind spending more time online, but using a schedule wasn't effective since I can't predict how busy I'll be every day of the week. With the Brick, I can pick my own restrictions as I need them.
At $59, the Brick is less expensive than the "dumb phones" it's competing with to help the cursed remember to touch grass again. Once you buy your Brick, there's no subscription or fees you have to pay for. The app is included with your Brick, and multiple people can actually share a Brick. Maybe you're a parent and you only have to buy one Brick for your family to have instead of one Brick for each member of your household. Despite how much I'm enjoying my time with the Brick so far, I do think it's price could be lower. The app is simple, which is good, but I don't believe its functionality nor the way the Brick is constructed can justify the price we're asked to pay. And, shipping isn't included in the price.
If you can afford the Brick, and you can safely assume it will work for you, I think you should buy it. But that is only because I have yet to see something less expensive that offers the same feature set. You should probably wait for the Brick to be on sale, or Brick, if you're reading this, lower your price!
This is an honest review. I paid for my Brick myself and I have no affiliations with the company. I was not incentivized in any way to write this review, and the link shared in this review is not an affiliate link.