Android apps · keypad phones

Built for phones
with actual buttons.

A suite of Android apps for phones with a physical keypad and no touchscreen. Press a number, something happens — no swiping, no app drawer, no wallpaper.

Supported and looking nice on Dumber Mini — maybe more to come.

L9 — home screen

Mockups, not screenshots — built to match each app, but not pixel-for-pixel.

The suite

Four apps, one keypad

Each app installs separately — pick just the ones you want. All of them share the same keypad-first design.

L9 Beta

Launcher on 9 keys. A home screen for phones with a physical keypad and no touchscreen: number keys launch your apps, the d-pad moves the selection.

Install →

C9 Beta

Calendars and Contacts on 9 keys. A calendar and address book for phones with a physical keypad and no touchscreen. It reads and writes straight to Android's own calendar and contacts, so any sync adapter (CalDAV/CardDAV, Google, ...) keeps working underneath.

Install →

P9 Beta

Phone on 9 keys. A dialer and call screen for phones with a physical keypad and no touchscreen: type digits to dial or to search contacts and call history, and handle calls with the green key, the red key and the d-pad.

Install →

M9 Beta

Messages on 9 keys. SMS for phones with a physical keypad and no touchscreen: conversations newest-first, a thread you read top to bottom, and a reply row one key away.

Install →

Philosophy

Built the other way around

Most Android software assumes a touchscreen, a search bar, and a drawer with three hundred icons. Nine assumes nine keys and enough restraint to leave it at that.

Keypad phones exist because someone decided a phone should do fewer things, on purpose. Stock Android doesn't know that — it still wants you to scroll, search, and swipe. Every app in this suite is built the other way around: press a key, get on with your day. If a feature needs a second screen of settings to explain, it probably doesn't belong here.

Documentation

Read the docs

Installation notes live on the docs page for now. Per-app documentation (screenshots, keypad references, settings) will grow in as each app gets closer to a first release.

Read the docs →