Mobile Phones Go Back to the Future

There’s a fork in the road for cell phones: cutting edge or keeping simple. At the annual phone-fest of Mobile World Congress, there’s no shortage of new tech: AI voice assistants of Google and Amazon proliferate, a new wave of modular designs emerge, and a concept demonstrates gigabit cellular connections. At the other end, a kind of techno-rebellion, with LG eschewing unique features and opting for utilitarian priorities like battery capacity. Then, of course, there’s the rebirth of the iconic Nokia 3310 — with no 3G, certainly no AI, but, yes, Snake.