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Sanctuary Computer

Light Two

System architecture and product development for an independent telecom company.

Tools

Services

Industries

Collaborators

  • The Light Phone
  • Pragmatc
  • Arima

Project Links

Buy a Light Phone here

We worked with The Light Phone team to bring their second handset to market. That handset was named one of Time Magazine's best inventions of 2019.

Project Overview

  1. Software planning and architecture for a custom operating system, eCommerce infrastructure, user-facing dashboard and cloud API.

  2. Oversight and API integration with a telecom MVNO to ensure successful SIM card activations, handset sales and customer support.

  3. Working with a Taiwanese manufacturer and Boston-based product designer Pragmatc, we co-ordinated all teams to go-to-market successfully.

The Light Phone 2 floating in space on a light gray background, with the time 2:22 displayed on its EInk screen.

A custom smartphone OS

The LightOS is a minimalist smartphone operating system, designed to be used as little as possible. Running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon with a custom rendering pipeline to power a beautiful EInk screen. The LightOS is based on Android, and supports all mainstream smartphone functionalities such as Bluetooth, Wifi, Contact Sync and more.

Read “Building LightOS with React Native”

A person holding the Light Phone 2 in both hands and typing on its on-screen keyboard.
Animated GIF of the Light Phone 2 Set Alarm screen with an AM/PM toggle and a numeric keypad.
A smiling person holding the Light Phone 2 to their ear during a phone call, seated by a sunlit window.
A person holding the Light Phone 2 in front of soft white curtains, with the home screen visible on its EInk display.

A beautiful eCommerce Site

To support sales of handsets, SIM cards, and cases, we built a custom eCommerce experience. It was necessary that users create LightOS accounts during checkout, so that their device IMEI could be associated at the time of shipping. The eCommerce site also handles service availability, feature breakdowns, and customer support.

Buy a Light Phone here

A user-facing dashboard

With a 2.84" screen, on-device configuration is kept to a minimum. For deeper configuration, we shipped a real-time, user facing dashboard to allow contact uploads, service plan configuration, and tool store configurations in an easy to use web UI.

The Light Phone 2 web dashboard showing Phone, Services, Account, and Support tiles over a dusk landscape.

From prototype to product

Working in tandem with Pragmatc and The Light Phone team, Sanctuary Computer managed and oversaw the collaboration with our Taiwanese OEM, Arima. From working against development boards, to shipping the final factory image for mass production, we were hands on for the entire process.

Sanctuary developers visiting the Arima factory in Taiwan, wearing pink antistatic smocks and hairnets on the production floor.
Sketch comparing OLED or LCD displays in on/off states to E-Ink displays, illustrating why E-Ink is always readable.
A factory worker at the Arima production line in Taiwan, inspecting a Light Phone 2 component under bright lights.
A hand holding a prototype Light Phone 2 showing the Phone, Alarm, and Settings menu on its EInk screen.
Close-up of a worker holding the bare Light Phone 2 circuit board and frame during production.
Hardware diagram of the Light Phone 2 labeling Headphone jack, Power Button, Speaker, Light Sensor, SIM, navigation keys, Display, Micro USB, and Microphone.

The Light Phone 2 started shipping in Q3 2019, and has since been featured in The Verge, GQ, Wired, The New York Times, Business Insider, Engadget, TechCrunch and many others.

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