Meadow Keeps Maps and Uber, but Needs a Second Number

Meadow is a second phone on purpose. It is small enough to leave your main smartphone at home for an evening, but it still handles maps, Uber, music, calls, texts, and a camera. There is no browser, social feed, or app store. That selection is the product.

The harder part is the phone number. Meadow assigns its own number through a data subscription; it cannot take over the SIM or number you already use. Plans listed by the company are $15 a month for 1GB, $25 for 5GB, and $35 for unlimited data. If your friends, family, or work contacts only know your usual number, you need a plan for how they can reach you. That is a bigger decision than whether you can live without Instagram for dinner.

Useful tools, deliberately narrow choice

Meadow runs Android under the hood and offers a short list of apps, including Maps, Spotify, Apple Music, and Uber. It can also show a ticket barcode. The idea makes sense for a concert or a walk across town: you can find the venue and get home without carrying a device built to keep you scrolling.

I would check two things before buying. First, the service is currently certified for sale only in the US, and its eSIM works on US towers. Second, photos sync to Meadow's cloud over Wi-Fi so you can retrieve them later. That may suit a device meant to stay out of your hands, but it is an awkward fit if you need to inspect a shot on the spot. TechCrunch's hands-on report also found its camera weak in concert lighting.

A second device and monthly bill are a high price for fewer distractions. For someone who keeps reinstalling the same apps after deleting them, the physical separation may be the point. I would still try a strict Focus mode on the phone I own before taking on another number.

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