A six and nine year old have been using the Other Phone – here’s how it’s held up

Giving your child their first phone feels like one of those parenting moments that should come with a waiver. You know it’s coming. You know it’s probably necessary. And you also know that once you open that door, it doesn’t neatly close again.

When the Other Phone launched last year, it went down well with Mumsnet users because it didn’t go to either extreme. It didn’t treat children like miniature adults who can handle the full internet on day one and it also didn’t lock everything down so tightly that kids feel embarrassed to be seen with it. Since then, it’s had an update: software tweaks and a second edition. So, this time we wanted to see how it copes in everyday family life.

The Other Phone costs £279 as a one-off purchase, with no subscription required. SafetyMode Plus - the brand’s parental control service - is available as an optional add-on during checkout, with a 3-month free trial followed by £5.99 per month.

We asked Mumsnet’s chief technology officer, Matt, to use the updated Other Phone with his sons, James (six) and Harrison (nine). These were their first personal phones. This wasn’t a weekend trial or a neat little “test scenario” - it was real life.

- Matt Davis, parent tester

They’ve been part of day-to-day life since 21 January, and were still being used on 8 February. That meant texting family and friends, a multi-day school activity camp for the nine-year-old, staying in touch while a grandparent was in hospital, messaging mates, a lot of YouTube and keeping in contact while nine-year-old Harrison was around at a friend’s house.

The Other Phone’s packaging

How we've tested the Other Phone

James and Harrison aren’t remotely the same when it comes to tech, which turned out to be useful for this review.

James, though six, is very confident. He’s used a shared iPad, an old iPhone and a DJI Action camera. Matt describes him as extremely determined and persistent, a strong visual learner and the sort of child who’ll keep trying until he cracks it.

Harrison, nine, is different. He’s used an iPad and PlayStation and also a DJI Action camera, but he’s not that interested in poking around settings or exploring. Matt says he was less confident at first (including being a bit startled when the phone rang) and he tends to disengage if something doesn’t work quickly.

Before the Other Phone, both relied mainly on a shared iPad. James sometimes used his mum’s Meta Quest 3 and liked typing on a laptop. Harrison used the iPad for homework and entertainment, but rarely touched the laptop or VR headset.

Harrison had been asking for a phone for a while, especially since moving to middle school where more of his friends have devices. James wouldn’t normally have had one yet, but, as Matt explains, “sibling dynamics made a staggered approach unrealistic”.

Before handing the phones over, they talked through expectations. The children were told: “We can see activity on the devices”, “Phones are not allowed in bedrooms overnight”, “Location tracking is enabled” and “Continued ownership depends on responsible behaviour”.

Matt says they’d previously noticed occasional behavioural shifts after certain online videos, so they wanted clear boundaries from the start. The main aims were reliable communication “in case of problems”, avoiding “you don’t have a phone” pressure for Harrison, gradually introducing independence and supporting tech education.

Two first-time phone owners trying the Other Phone at home

Is the Other Phone easy to set up for parents?

Setup is often where “parent-friendly tech” stops being parent-friendly, so this mattered.

The first phone took about 20 minutes to set up, starting once the SIM was activated. There were no software updates suddenly interrupting things, and creating the parental management account early made the rest smoother.

One detail Matt and his wife really appreciated: the system uses a parental Google account, so you don’t have to create email addresses for children if you don’t want to.

The second phone took about 10 minutes, helped by familiarity, reusing the account and fewer decisions. Matt reckons a third device could be set up in about five minutes, which bodes well for bigger families.

- Matt Davis, parent tester

There were a couple of fiddly points. The main friction was manually enabling permissions needed for the SafetyMode Plus app. The instructions were in the app, but you did have to dive into Android settings and Matt says a less technical parent could struggle.

They experienced two brief app crashes during setup, neither of which caused data loss or required repeating steps.

One moment caused a wobble: when changing blocking levels via the web portal, it briefly looked like protections had disappeared. After checking the phone, the filtering was still in place, but the interface momentarily made it feel like something had gone wrong.

What you get in the box with the Other Phone

Can the Other Phone be customised?

The Other Phone offers Simple and Grid layouts. Simple is the default. Both children switched to Grid, which helped it feel more like a “normal” smartphone.

Simple mode is minimalist and distraction-free. Grid mode is closer to a standard smartphone experience, with a more familiar app layout. Switching is easy, although the differences aren’t explained in much detail – you mostly work them out by trying both.

Grid mode still has some limits: you can’t reorder apps and there are no folders. That said, wallpaper and lock screen customisation are available. So far the children haven’t complained, but Matt notes that customisation can matter more as children get older. For now, the balance felt fine.

The Other Phone in hand, back and front

The Other Phone's safety features - do they work?

Filtering was set to Moderate across categories including harassment and bullying, obscene or graphic text and nudity, with all banned-word options enabled.

Their approach was simple: start balanced, tighten if needed, loosen if it’s blocking too much. If SafetyMode Plus is enabled, settings can be changed on the phone with a parent password, or remotely through the SafetyMode Plus portal.

YouTube triggered the most alerts during testing, with roughly 15 notifications per session. The content flagged (Minecraft, football and similar) was consistently harmless, suggesting the system was erring on the side of caution rather. However since testing, the company has confirmed an update designed to significantly reduce YouTube false positives following changes in how YouTube pushes content.

- Matt Davis, parent tester 

Despite that, it didn’t frustrate the children. Matt’s only concern is alert desensitisation, but they still felt comfortable knowing anything genuinely dodgy would be blocked anyway.

On the flip side, they didn’t see anything slipping through that they’d expected to be blocked. That gave them confidence, and Matt says the system errs on the side of caution, which they prefer.

One unexpected safeguard: texts from unknown numbers seemed not to be delivered. If that’s intentional, it’s a really useful protection.

Control stayed tight throughout: apps can’t be installed without parental authentication, remote changes sync in about a minute, and children aren’t notified when adjustments happen.

Matt sums it up like this: “We feel in control of the devices at all times.” He adds that it seems easy to manage across multiple children.

SafetyMode alerts in action during normal use

Testing the Other Phone: how the kids actually felt

According to Matt, the reactions were “immediate”. James’s excitement was 9 out of 10. He wanted to text his grandad straight away.

Harrison was 10 out of 10, having wanted a phone for ages. His friends were positive too, telling him his phone was “cool”. Matt adds that neither child was disappointed.

More interestingly, screen time overall dropped compared to the shared iPad. Likely reasons were less novelty around device access and the deliberate decision to avoid addictive apps. They saw no negative behavioural changes. Instead, Matt reports increased independence, a greater sense of responsibility and signs that trust was being taken seriously.

Is the Other Phone suitable for different ages?

Requests from each child have been manageable, shares Matt: YouTube approved, TikTok refused (and accepted without pushback), WhatsApp recently requested and under consideration.

According to his dad, James is more likely to test boundaries - but the platform makes those boundaries easy to hold. They haven’t seen any bypass attempts and it feels meaningfully tamper-resistant.

Screen-time scheduling tools exist and work reliably. Although bedtime rules are currently enforced manually, Matt notes the phone can prevent overnight use if they want it to.

He describes the phone as “a tool for preventative parenting, not merely reactive control”.

Day-to-day use: a quick check of messages and apps

Is the Other Phone built well? Is it durable?

Day to day, the phone felt solid and reliable. Performance was fast and stable with no noticeable lag and it felt like a normal smartphone rather than a restricted budget device.

Battery life comfortably lasted a full day with 20 to 40% remaining. There was one fully drained battery incident, which was likely user error (for example, a video left playing). Matt adds that a child could realistically forget to charge it and still be reachable.

Size-wise, it’s slightly too big for a six-year-old. James tended to use it seated and two-handed, while Harrison handled it comfortably and could pocket it.

The camera has been used constantly. Quality is very good, especially outdoors, with clear indoor results too, and it’s perfectly fine as a child’s main camera.

Durability was reassuring. It’s survived drops, the pre-applied screen protector is excellent, buttons feel tactile and the screen is bright. The case felt flimsy at first but protected well in use. Matt’s conclusion was simple: he wouldn’t worry about future drops.

Is the Other Phone worth the price tag?

On value, Matt was clear: excellent - especially given the £279 upfront price and the fact there’s no subscription required to get started. He’d been considering a much more expensive iPhone for Harrison, but would still choose this because the SafetyMode Plus platform is available and designed to work seamlessly with the phone. He says the available SafetyMode Plus protection is what sets it apart from standard smartphones.

The optional SafetyMode Plus subscription could be explained more clearly. During testing, Matt was using the SafetyMode Plus subscription (provided for the review), but because it was pre-configured he didn’t receive the usual onboarding emails explaining what was included. That led to some initial uncertainty about which features were included with SafetyMode Plus.

In day-to-day use, however, all safety features functioned as expected and there was no sense that using the phone required an ongoing subscription.

The welcome pack that comes with the Other Phone

Final verdict: is the Other Phone the right phone for your DC? 

As Matt puts it, the Other Phone nails the main job you want from a first smartphone: it reduces parental anxiety without making children feel restricted or childish.

He adds that filtering is robust, hardware quality is reassuring, performance is strong and the value is compelling, especially compared with mainstream alternatives. A key change is the added flexibility - you can use the phone on its own, or choose to add SafetyMode Plus if you want additional monitoring and controls.

- Matt Davis

The minor drawbacks, like limited customisation and some initial confusion around how the optional SafetyMode Plus subscription works, don’t outweigh the day-to-day reassurance.

In Matt’s words: it’s “an easy recommendation for safety-conscious parents seeking a capable, confidence-inspiring first phone”. And if you’re hovering on the edge of the first-phone decision, that kind of reassurance counts for a lot.

Comparison table: Other Phone vs iPhone vs Samsung

To put the Other Phone into context, we compared it with two smartphones parents often consider for a first device that feature in our best phones for kids guide.

About the author

Rebecca Roberts (aka Beccy) is our resident lifestyle expert with a practical focus on sleep, wellness and everyday comfort. She’s equally at home tackling frank, NSFW‑adjacent topics as she is road‑testing kitchen appliances, mattresses and vacuums that work for real parents. She cut her teeth in journalism in 2010, earned a post‑grad diploma in Journalism and later led editorial at ExpatWoman in Dubai before joining Mumsnet. As a mum of two, she writes with the time‑poor, sleep‑deprived in mind - honest product reviews, realistic routines and products that make parents’ lives easier.

When she’s not at her desk, she’s probably product‑testing with her two helpers, corralling a PTA or walking her two dogs up and down country lanes.

About Mumsnet reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after weeks of hands-on testing. We never accept payment for coverage, and our verdicts are independent and honest. We may earn a small commission through affiliate links, which helps fund our work - but it never influences our opinions.

All prices are correct at the time of writing.

Read next: Our guide to the best phones for kids

Update February 2026: Since testing concluded, The Other Phone has released software updates addressing YouTube false positives and refining certain interface elements mentioned above.