Meadow lets you leave your smartphone at home without sacrificing the essentials

Meadow is a pocket-sized, square-format smartphone designed to let users leave their primary handset at home while retaining access to core services. Its Android base allows it to run select apps — including navigation, fitness tracking, ride-hailing and music streaming — and the device ships with native utilities such as a camera, voice memos, notes, texting, calling, location sharing and ticket scanning. Meadow requires users to sign up for a separate subscription plan that supplies a second phone number for calls and texts while the device is in use.

In practice the device handled everyday tasks during a recent outing: the reviewer used Meadow to call an Uber, stream music during the ride and scan a barcode ticket at a concert from its roughly three-inch square screen. The phone’s camera produced acceptable daytime photos but struggled in low light, and Meadow forgoes a front-facing lens in favor of a small mirror beside the main camera so users can check framing for selfies. Photos and videos captured on Meadow are not viewable on the device itself; they become accessible later through the Meadow mobile app on the user’s main phone.

Meadow positions itself between pared-back “dumb” phones and minimal-software touchscreen alternatives by aiming to supplement rather than replace a smartphone. Founder Shreyas Narlanka said he did not want a full replacement and that the company’s goal is to reduce access to social media and web browsing while preserving streaming and other conveniences. The device supports Bluetooth and wired headphones (via adapter), and the reviewer reported that battery life and display visibility were generally fine outdoors, with the display at times feeling overly bright in dim settings.

The product is newly available: Meadow has shipped its first bulk batch to preorder customers and is still ironing out early issues — the reviewer encountered an Uber-status glitch that the company says has since been fixed. Meadow is Narlanka’s first hardware venture; he previously founded inventory-management startup Scoutapp AI, which was acquired by resale platform StockX. The company raised funding in December 2024 led by Alana Goyal of basecase capital, with angel participation from Terrence Rohan, Discord’s founding CMO Eros Resmini, Vercel founder Guillermo Rauch, and Diagram founder Jordan Singer.