Imagine a smartphone that doesn't track your every move and harvest your data. That's the pitch of German company Punkt (pronounced "poonkt," after the German word for "period"), which has been making privacy-minded handsets for years. In a private hotel room during CES 2026, I got hands-on time with its next smartphone, the MC03, which keeps data private and extends battery life far beyond what conventional smartphones are capable of.
Most smartphones use either Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating systems, and apps on both harvest your data. The MC03, running on an Android open source project-based system called AphyOS, is designed from the ground up with the opposite approach. It packs the company's own alternative suite of communication and productivity apps that have no data collection or privacy infringing features. If desired, people can download some conventional Android apps through the Google Play Store, but these are sandboxed so they can't siphon data from other apps.
Though Punkt also has a minimalist "dumb" phone line with the MPO2, the upcoming MC03 (which has started delivering units to Europe and will start shipping to the US in spring) is a full-fledged $700 smartphone that iterates on its predecessor, the MCO2. It adds a few notable hardware upgrades, like switching to a 120Hz OLED display and making the battery easily removable and replaceable (by the user or through Punkt, either of which costs $50), as well as better cameras. Despite the swappable battery, the phone is still IP68 certified to keep out dust and water, with a rear cover that I was able to pop off and snap back on securely during my in-person preview.
The Punkt's back cover is easily removable (I used a specialized wedge that looked like a guitar pick), yet the phone retains its IP68 water- and dust-resistance. David Lumb/CNET
The privacy-at-all-costs approach for the MC03 has some big pros and cons, deriving from a lot of the lesser-known ways modern phone software operates. For instance, Android updates are free for consumers, but phonemakers using the operating system share user data with Google. As Punkt is a company ideologically opposed to sharing its users' information, it charges a subscription fee -- $12 a month, or $120 for a year -- to ensure privacy as well as adding features, secure apps and AphyOS updates.
"When you take [the MC03] out of the box, it's completely disconnected from Google. So nothing on this device tries to share any data with Google," said Yanapi Senaud, global head of sales and marketing at Punkt. "We don't collect data and sell it to anyone, so therefore we have to pay for [development] somehow."
To the average person, a monthly software subscription is a surprising and steep cost on top of the $700 baseline price of the MC03. Some people may literally not value their privacy at $12 a month. Those who buy the phone but don't pay the subscription will still be able to get critical security updates but will lack some functionality, like camera features or the ability to download apps.
But those who do think it's a worthy expense will reap the other benefits of a phone that doesn't leak data. One of those benefits? It'll last up to six days without charging, Punkt says.
The MC03's battery costs $50 to replace, and owners can do it themselves. David Lumb/CNET
How the MC03 can get nearly a week of battery life
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