Design Validation Test Update (D.V.T.) | The Light Phone

Design Validation Test Update (D.V.T.)

October 2024

Design Validation Test Production

The Design Validation Test (D.V.T.) production successfully wrapped up at the end of September. The trial run went smoothly and we are still on track for the first shipment in January 2025.

Our primary goal with this production was to refine the overall design and aesthetic of the hardware. We fixed a few cosmetic issues from our E.V.T. production and finalized all of the buttons: the wheel, power, menu, volume and shutter button design. This includes the internal mechanics for stability and the right tactile push feel.

The software development work is moving along nicely. We’ve had to focus on hitting specific milestones for various certifications, including any emergency alert requirements, as well as focusing on getting all of the LightOS phone aspects working for carrier certification by the end of the month. We’ll dive more into the software status and our latest LightOS prototypes in our next update.

Light Wheel & OLED Polarizer from The Light Phone on Vimeo

Final OLED Screen

We’ve also now integrated the final polarizer into the OLED screen stack. The E.V.T. had a slight blue tint that we were able to blend a little more seamlessly with the painted matte glass around the screen. The display is custom-designed and built exclusively for Light Phone III. We began this process during E.V.T. and have implemented it for all D.V.T. samples.

Finalized Buttons

We refined the shape and the feel of the buttons for the menu, shutter, and volume keys (along the right side of the phone). We reviewed many rounds of samples with our CNC vendor to get there. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) is the process we use for the precise molding of the metal buttons.

We've finalized the design for the Light Wheel and its protective bumper. While the wheel is quite strong, the bumper will add protection from potential damage. In our current beta the wheel spins to control the phone's brightness and clicks to turn the flashlight on/off.

Menu Button Internals from The Light Phone on Vimeo

In addition to the shape of the button’s externals, we have also improved the way that the buttons click – specifically, the larger menu button shown in the video above. In order to ensure that the button registers smoothly no matter where you click (i.e. at far end of the button or just the edge of it), we’ve designed and implemented three internal pins. It also stabilizes the button so it doesn’t feel like it’s “see-sawing” if pushed on either outer edge.

Two-Step Shutter from The Light Phone on Vimeo

We’ve finalized the internal mechanics of the two-step shutter button as shown above. We will now use springs to get the right feel when pressing down on the shutter. Previously, the E.V.T. build used 2 rubber pieces instead of springs, but that made it too hard to press and made the two-step functionality too subtle.

Finalized SIM Tray

We were able to finalize the SIM door to sit flush with the aluminum housing. We also painted the inner slot black to match the aesthetics.

Battery Cover

The battery cover has a tight tolerance when assembled on the phone, and after E.V.T. production we felt we could improve how it was fitting. It's especially tricky because of the recycled plastic we use, which is made from Sony’s old CDs/DVDs and has unique material characteristics. We managed to improve the overall fit and flatness of the battery cover during the D.V.T. process with some tweaks to the tooling.

Initial Camera Prototype for Light Phone III from The Light Phone on Vimeo

Camera Tool Prototyping

The camera tool will be the first new tool to come with the Light Phone III. Though there is still a lot of work to do in refining the software image processing, we’ve made a lot of progress with building out our custom camera tool as the image-tuning work progresses.

The interface is a work in progress, the blue lines around the icons in the video are there for our development team while in beta testing. The tentative UX includes buttons for the camera settings, the photo album, changing the camera mode (i.e. photo/video/selfie), flash settings and exposure setting. The exposure setting is currently working (0:13), and you can also see the how the wheel controls the screen brightness (0:21 & 0:26). We are still working on building the auto-focus function with the shutter button.

The ratio for photos is 1:1.333 and video is 16:9.

We've also tested being able to offload images from the device directly to a computer via USB-C. For the initial launch, there will not be a way to sync photos with the dashboard, though we'd like to offer this option going forward. We'd also like to explore the possibility to sync your photos with other third party libraries that you might already be using.

Booting Animation Test from The Light Phone on Vimeo

Light USB-C Cable

We’ve been working with a vendor on the Light Phone III USB-C cable. It uses a premium braided cord with custom silicone shape ends. This is our latest a prototype, fairly close to the final design in which we've only adjusted the logo positioning and slightly chamfered the straight edges of the silicone.

Next Steps

Thanks for reading through this update, we look forward to sharing more about the software, camera tool and packaging in the near future.

You can still pre-order the Light Phone III for the limited time discount of $499.