Having two phones sounds great, but only if your new one has a QWERTY keyboard

One thing we can learn from the car guys culture is that the two-device lifestyle is possible… and even needed, rather than merely wanted.

More often than not, those who have a "project car" (a four-wheeled black hole that absorbs all their money and time) also have a much more modest everyday vehicle. The reason is simple. The "project car" takes months (or years) of work to complete, and true car guys do it all by themselves. In the meantime, they need a car that actually works, that doesn't break down every five miles and that has normal fuel mileage (these days, gas is a bit pricier and that's important).

It's like having an SUV alongside a convertible for the summer – the idea is not that outlandish, is it?

So, why not get a second phone?

I know some of you already have an additional handset. But what if you ditch the traditional slab smartphone and give something new and exotic a try?

As it is often the case, the novel thing is simply the forgotten thing from the past. There is nothing new except what is forgotten, as that saying goes.

QWERTY phones are once again sought after

I just read that Unihertz managed to meet its $100,091 Kickstarter goal in 11 minutes for the upcoming Titan 2 Elite – a fancy phone with a QWERTY keyboard and some cool tricks up the sleeve. The $100K goal is one thing, but the project has now (March 26) raised over $2,500,000.

This is beyond impressive. Yes, all-screen 7-inch candy bar phones are sleek and all – and foldables are all the rage right now – but the virtual keyboard simply can't obliterate the QWERTY physical keyboard.

Of course, a physical keyboard can't do much damage to the touchscreen's dominance either. But here's the point – and I hope somebody at the White House gets this – we don't have to turn everything into a battle. Coexisting is possible in certain situations. There are benefits to be drawn, even.

QWERTY phones won't replace the omnipotent iPhone and Galaxy handsets: not now, not tomorrow, not ever.

But it's damn nice to see them making a comeback.

The "secondary phone" idea makes sense

Phones are not what they seem. What used to be tools for communication quickly turned into pocket entertainment hubs that are optimized for social media feeds, video streaming and an endless cascade of notifications.

That evolution created a strange paradox: the very device many people rely on for work is also the single biggest source of distraction in their day. This is where the idea of a dedicated secondary phone starts to make sense. A device focused on calls, email and messaging – with fewer temptations and better battery life – suddenly looks less like a gimmick and more like a practical tool.

A keyboard phone as a secondary device actually fits several real-world scenarios rather neatly.

For professionals who want to separate work from personal life, it could function as a clean, no-nonsense work phone dedicated to email, calls and messaging.

Then there are people who simply communicate a lot for a living – writers, journalists, executives, customer support staff – and for them, a physical keyboard still offers a typing experience that glass screens struggle to match.

The rise of "digital minimalism"

At the same time, a broader cultural shift is quietly gaining momentum. More people are experimenting with minimalist phones, so-called "dumb phones" and other focus-oriented devices in an effort to cut down on screen addiction.

The problem is that many of those gadgets go too far in the opposite direction, stripping away so much functionality that they become impractical for everyday use. A modern QWERTY smartphone could land right in the middle of that spectrum.

I see it as a fully capable smartphone, but one designed with communication and productivity in mind rather than infinite scrolling and autoplay videos.

Having two phones makes sense, but make sure to get a secondary device that can provide a different experience. Otherwise, what's the point of having an iPhone 17 and a Galaxy S26 at the same time?!