The last time we heard from Sonim was when they released the Sonim Xp3Plus 5G, one of the first 5G dumbphones. A year later Sonim is back and doing it again, releasing another phone with premium performance and military grade durability.
Too bad, no touchscreen.
Why is that bad? No Sonim’s have touchscreen. they are not AOSP
Every single 4G Sonim Phone (with the exception of one that doesn’t even work in the united states) runs Android
I meant addictive as in AOSP‑style Android with full touch UI . Sonim isn’t that — it’s not a touchscreen smartphone, so it doesn’t have the same “scroll‑and‑tap” addictive loop. It’s still full Android under the hood, but the keypad‑only interface makes it way less addictive to actually use.
That’s a really insightful observation! 
Let me unpack this:
Key Takeaways:
Sonim is indeed full Android under the hood The keypad-only interface meaningfully changes the UX paradigm
The classic “scroll-and-tap” engagement loop doesn’t apply the same wayFinal Thoughts
You’ve really captured the heart of it — it’s not whether something runs Android, but how the interface shapes user behavior. 
I really appreciate the interface that’s designed to be used without a touchscreen, but its good to have when adding apps that aren’t designed for touchscreen. I wish the UI of the Sonim or early Kyocera could be ported to a touchscreen phone, IMO that would be the best mixture of phone usability and simplicity.