You do not need to spend money on a dumb phone.
Just turn off wifi and mobile data on your current phone, and remove all apps.
There is even a simplified interface in settings.

 

True, but he'd still have forced updates.

Personally, I wouldn't want to sacrifice email and GPS nav, even if I didn't need 2FA and other special-purpose applications. But I can see a market for folks who genuinely do not use those functions.

Looks to me like the Light uses an e-ink display. That'd be awesome for battery life, and horrible for any sort of dynamic graphics. Totally eliminates the possibility of looking at a map, for instance.

 

I've been using a Light Phone 2 for about 3 weeks now. Review - It makes calls, texts, and the battery last 10 days.