Modular phone promises total privacy at the flick of a switch

Most modular phones are all about the swappable hardware or their repairability. But Brax's upcoming model takes a slightly different approach: it's going for maximum privacy.

The Brax Wink features a BlackBerry-style design with the front split between a 4-inch display and a full physical keyboard. That bottom half can be swapped out for an extra battery.

The phone runs on a de-Googled version of Android called BraxOS. That means it has the same foundation as the popular OS, but you won't require a Google account to use it, and your phone activity won't be tracked for collecting analytics and delivering ads. It's open source, so anyone can audit it on GitHub.

That's not all: a physical switch on the side of the phone lets you turn off the mobile network, microphones, camera, location, sensors, and more for the whole device.

Brax also operates an end-to-end encrypted calling and texting service exclusively for its devices; the company says no-one will be able to access the contents of your communication through this channel. If you need it, there's a data-only mode that blocks calls and texts, and only allows VoIP calls and messaging services through.

The Wink can also wipe your data when a specific condition is met. That could be the use of a duress password, one too many failed unlock attempts, or simply every time the device is restarted.

With this sort of feature set, the Wink will likely attract people who value control over their data and who gets to see it.

It might also interest people who want a simple, compact phone with a nice keyboard and a utilitarian design. The keys look like they'll offer decent tactile feedback as you type, and you can also swipe across them to scroll through on-screen content.

Beyond that, this is a mid-tier handset at best. It'll get the new octa-core MediaTek MT8875 chip, 8-GB RAM, 128-GB onboard storage, support for an additional 1 TB with its microSD card slot, a 4-inch OLED touchscreen, a 3.5-mm audio jack, a single 50-megapixel rear camera, and software updates until 2032.

There's no front camera or a fingerprint sensor, so you'll miss the ability to make video calls, and you'll need a password or PIN to unlock your phone every time.

Also worth noting: the phone is a bit thicker than most other mainstream models at 10 mm. We don't yet know what it'll weigh, and what kind of battery life you can expect. The modular battery accessory hasn't been specced either, and isn't available to pre-order with the phone right away.

If the name Brax sounds familiar, it might be from our coverage of the company's open_slate tablet we covered earlier this year. That model was crowdfunded on Indiegogo, but deliveries have been delayed by a couple of months to December.

You'll want to keep that in mind if you're keen on the Wink. It's expected to retail at US$700, but you can pre-order one from the July 2027 batch now for $449 upfront. Alternatively, a $30 deposit will get you on the list for batch two (due next September), but that'll cost a total of $550.

Find the Wink on Brax's site.

If you're looking for something more familiar, the easily repairable Fairphone 6+ is now available stateside. For a more unique device, check out the Sidephone, which lets you swap out its T9 keypad for an iPod-style click wheel or a keyboard with more buttons. BlackBerry fans might be into the Minimal Phone 2 or the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite that came out this year.

Source: Brax Tech