transparent methaphone wants users to detox from digital screens

Detox from digital screens with a slab of methaphone

The transparent methaphone wants users to detox from digital screens using cut acrylic in the size of an iPhone 15. A sculptural and phone-like object, the plastic-made item adjusts to any environment and light instantly because of its translucency. It’s dark when the room is dark, and it’s visible when the surroundings are light-filled. The object is a collaboration between Eric Antonow and engineer-artist Greg Hochmuth, who say that the methaphone that helps people detox from digital screens even runs on the ‘Eternally Unbothered OS.’

The duo chooses green edge acrylic for the electric-less device to produce the appearance of glass without the risk of breaking. They also craft it to ¼ thickness to make it resemble the modern smartphones’ width. So far, the design team adds that, just like any other smartphone, there’s a breaking and scratching limit to this methaphone that helps people detox from digital screens when dropped and scraped. In general, it mimics a fidget toy because it’s a way to reduce the screen time of the users while giving them an object shaped familiarly in their hands.

all images courtesy of methaphone, unless stated otherwise

Neon-color versions of acrylic-made device

The design team derives the word ‘methaphone’ from methadone, which is a synthetic analgesic drug similar to morphine. They say that heroin addicts have used methadone to help break their addiction. ‘Now you can step down your dependency on your mobile device with this,’ add Eric Antonow and Greg Hochmuth. The slab of acrylic that can help people detox from digital screens went through prototyping and conception within four weeks, from conceptual sketches to physical pieces: Eric Antonow sketched the idea, and Grex Hochmuth quickly fabricated different colors of acrylic prototypes. By March 30, prototypes were in hand, and the shipping began the week after.

In the now-finished campaign, the design team planned to build 80 methaphones for the first batch to allow themselves to solve the manufacturing details and have them ship the device to the backers without issues. On the page, they’ve also shared that they’d create a few limited editions of the device that can help users detox from digital screens in neon versions. The delivery of the first batch may have been successful because the design team posted a photo with neon-colored methaphones on the X account of the device back on June 13th, 2025. While the methaphones that help users detox from digital screens are sold out, the team says they’re making more.

the transparent methaphone wants users to detox from digital screens | image courtesy of @ericantonow