Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
It’s been about a year since the Light Phone III first arrived. Like Light’s first two phones, this device only ships with a limited set of apps (“tools,” as Light calls them) to help users avoid distraction. When I tested it out last year, I really enjoyed the experience but also found there were a handful of things I still need from a phone that the Light Phone III didn’t provide.
Later this year, though, things could be a lot different. Light has announced a developer program for the Light Phone III which will let people create tools for the minimalist device. In addition to providing an SDK, Light will also provide a platform for sharing and distributing tools. “The idea is to provide a curated, non-commercial, open-source platform of user-created tools that expand the utility of the device — without compromising the Light mission to create technology that doesn’t want your constant attention,” the Light team says on its site.
In keeping with the Light ethos, this will not be an open storefront but instead a tightly curated experience. The company says that it’ll only include tools “blessed by Light,” and goes on to note that “each tool must serve a clear intentional purpose, and of course, respect user-privacy to the fullest extent.”
The company also wrote that its intention is to support “non-commercial” tools specifically — which makes me think that Light will avoid anything that requires a subscription or would ordinarily have in-app purchases. The SDK will allow developers to access things like push notifications and access to media like photos, videos, audio and other files on the device (with a user’s permission, of course). The SDK also includes an open source UI/UX library for building tools, and an emulator for testing tools without actually having a Light Phone on hand.
The company says that the SDK should be ready for developers in June and that it’ll start vetting submitted tools in August or September, with an eye towards launching the platform for users by October. Light remains a small operation though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if these timelines slip a little. Regardless, I’m excited to see what developers can build for this quirky little device — if someone makes a good music player, I might be ready to give the Light Phone another shot.
