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

I held my breath as I walked into the concert venue and showed the bouncer a ticket barcode on a three-inch, square screen.

“If it doesn’t go through, I can try something else,” I said quickly, worried that the barcode wouldn’t work. But just as Meadow founder Shreyas Narlanka promised me, the code I scanned onto the startup’s minimalist phone earlier that day worked fine.

“Cool phone,” the bouncer said, ushering me inside.

I’d done it. With Meadow’s barebones smartphone, I had called an Uber, streamed Apple Music during the ride, and entered the show. Not once did I need to touch my iPhone, which I only brought with me as a backup in case the ticket scan didn’t work.