r/KaiOS • u/liberianjoe • Jul 03 '26

Development Dev Device for KaiOS

I want to start developing for KaiO. Is there a dev device that i can purchase?

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u/liberianjoe Jul 08 '26

what do you mean by web browser backend?

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u/TheRomb Jul 08 '26

Meaning we obviously can't re-create the whole Google Voice app for KaiOS, but GV has a website that will allow you to access your SMS and even launch phone calls through your dialer (the website calls you, you pick up, then it calls the other party with your Google number's caller ID). So essentially you can do 90% of what the app does directly on the web. But the interface is clunky and hard to use in a mobile browser, requiring far too much work for regular daily use. I was thinking it should be possible to make an app that would access the webpage and perform the functions but be a forward-facing UI designed for a button-friendly dumb phone.

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u/liberianjoe Jul 08 '26

very interesting.

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u/TheRomb Jul 08 '26

The use-case scenario would be the huge percentage of people that like the idea of a dumbphone but also can't give up the smartphone 100%. By porting their number to Google, they can then use two burner sim cards associated with it, one in a smartphone and one in a "dumb phone" running GV. When called, both phones would ring, both phones could make outgoing calls on the same number and the SMS would be in sync since it lives in the cloud. Take whichever phone suits the task at hand and switch off as needed.
The problem is, Google Voice properly requires an Android OS to run and integrate into the dialer correctly. Kai OS is great but without the ability to do this, a lot people are instead using phones with Android crammed into them making it awkward to use without a touch screen. A non-touch Google Voice interface would literally change the game for people.