The Mobile Phones of Doctor Who - 2022 Specials

So, farewell Jodie! What a brilliant Doctor she has been. I started this series of blog posts four years ago to celebrate her becoming ther new Doctor. As ever, I've identified all of the mobile phones used in Doctor Who. This blog post goes through the 2022 specials - three cracking stories to round out Jodie's tenure.

Eve of The Daleks

Classic time-loop episode where - for once - a mobile phone saves the day!

Sarah

Sarah's mammy keeps video-calling Sarah's Samsung. Thankfully, the props team haven't attempted to obscure it, so we get a clear view of the front:

The camera array looks like the Samsung S6 or possibly the A9 Pro.

But take a look at the back panel:

There are three cut outs. That's usually camera, flash, and either a rear finger-print sensor or speaker. To be honest, it could be any one of a dozen semi-similar Samsung phones.

At the end of the episode - after the poor phone was used to trigger an explosion - she's rocking a newer phone with a teardrop camera:

With this rear camera cluster:

Again, we're in the identikit Samsung territory. It's probably the A03s, A12, A31.

Karl

Who?

Yup! Karl was chased by the baddie in Jodie's first story. Only fitting he should be in the final crop of episodes.

Here's a bit of a close up:

You can just about see the Apple logo through the case. There's the classic volume button + silence switch combo. Lenses are in the top corner. So it could be anything from the original iPhone up until the iPhone 8.

Legend of the Sea Devils

I thought this would be a phone-free episode (and Doctor Who needs a phone like a Sea Devil needs a bicycle) - but, right at the end Dan and Di have a bit of a chinwag. And, for once, we get a nice clear shot of the phone with no obfuscation!

Blimey! A Nokia! We haven't seen one of those for a while. And, do you see in the top corner - "Universal Roaming". Just like the early days of the show.

It took me a moment to realise - this is not an Android. See those icons at the bottom of the screen? They're from Windows Phone!

This is probably the Nokia Lumia 735 - based on the speaker and camera placement. He's rocking a phone from 2014. Time to upgrade Dan!

What about Di?

Hmmm… Could be anything. The camera array looks a bit like Sarah's phone from earlier in the series. Any ideas gang?

The Power of the Doctor

Tegan

OMG! Here's what we saw in the episode preview:

And here's the front from the episode itself:

That slim camera cluster looks like one of the (many) Nokia Androids - but the front camera placement means it is almost certainly the Nokia C1 2nd Edition.

Ace

OMG²! Again, only a quick glimpse in the preview:

Not much to go on there. What about the front?

A black fondleslab with a headphone socket on the left. Anything else? Let's ZOOM and ENHANCE the bottom of the phone:

Given the thin camera bar on the back, the headphone jack, and the front camera - I'm confident this is the BlackBerry Leap from 2015.

There's also a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of the back, with the BlackBerry logo in full view.

Inston-Vee Vinder

Yes! Inston-Vee is back! This phone is a call back to last year's Once, Upon Time.

And, yes, it appears to be exactly the same N73 as last time. Well done props team!

And next?

I'll be honest, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between phones these days. They're usually just anonymous black rectangles. But, as long as Doctor Who has mobile phones, I'll keep going with this daft series of posts.

As ever, if you think I've made a mistake - or if you've spotted a missing phone - drop me a note in the comments.

Onwards to 2023!

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11
• S12
• Bonus Rose
• Revolution of the Daleks
• S13: Flux
• 2022 Specials