Mobile Phones of Doctor Who - Season 14

Guess who's back, back again! If you're new to the blog series, this is where I attempt to identify all the mobile phones used by The Doctor and their companions.

The 2024 series is incredible. Lots of plot, not too much exposition, and a whole bunch of mystery. I love it when Doctor Who goes off in a new direction. Let's take a look at the handsets used in these stories.

The Church on Ruby Road

First up, bit of a cheeky inclusion, the police officer is packing a TETRA handset - the Motorola MTH800.

New companion Ruby Sunday has a red-encased phone - at the bottom are dual speakers and a charging port:

It doesn't look like there are any buttons on the side of the phone. In another shot, we see the right of the phone - and it appears to have several buttons:

There's a small square camera cluster. So I think it's the Google Pixel 5 - although it might be a 4a or 5a as well.

Davina's phone is harder to work out. There are multiple buttons to the right of the screen, so it can't be an iPhone:

There don't appear to be any bottom speakers on the rose-gold coloured device. The camera cluster is rather thin:

The long volume button with a power button underneath makes me think Xiaomi - but they tend to have speakers on the bottom. Not much to go on here. Any ideas?

Space Babies

We get the classic "Enable Universal Roaming" sequence with Ruby's phone. From the camera cluster we can see it's the Pixel 4 or 4a.

But what do we see when The Doctor zaps it with the sonic screwdriver?

The front camera cluster shows it is definately the 4 or 4a. But let's zoom in!

Just for a moment, the date flips from December 24th 2023 to 2024! Wonder if that's significant?

Also, the phone appears to have connected to WiFi. Good to know that 802.11 is still the standard in the future 🤣

Incidentally, there's a minor continuity nit here. The Doctor hands Ruby the phone with the USB-C port facing him, but she takes it with the port facing her!

Carla's phone is wrapped in an anonymous case.

73 Yards

Ifor Jones - who is The Only Gay Goth In The Village - has an fairly generic looking phone:

Not much detail in the close up. Probably a Samsung?

Again, not much to see on Carla's device:

Kate is rocking a dual screen (non-foldable) Android - much as UNIT's Shirley Anne Bingham did in Star Beast.

Looks to be a Microsoft Surface Duo 2

As you can see from the close-up, the graphic is being loaded from the gallery - hence the delete and sharing icons at the bottom.

Oh, and you see that QR code? If you fill in the missing corner square, it leads you to the production designer's website! Brilliant little Easter Egg.

Future Ruby has a delightful prop-phone with a vestigial camera popping out of the top. There's a little bit of detail on the side, but nothing which says what real-phone it is modelled on. Interestingly, there's a little bit of detail on the phone's screen in close-up. "LEOW11" perhaps?

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

OMG! Brilliant episode!

In Ruby's shoebox, is this little candybar:

It's hard to find much detail about pre-smartphones. There's a headphone jack at the top and a chunky D-Pad. That describes a hundred handsets. I think it is a Nokia 1280 but feel free to correct me

Mel shows The Doctor a video on a foldable handset:

Yup! Our old friend, the UNIT-standard-issue Microsoft Surface Duo 2! I wouldn't have thought UNIT trusted Microsoft 😆

Empire of Death

A stunning end - and with a couple of phones, which makes it even better. Obviously!

Louise Miller - who is spoilers Ruby's mum - has an older iPhone.

But what's the other phone? There's a glimpse behind Ruby inside the memory-TARDIS:

What is it? ZOOM! ENHANCE!

(OK, I grabbed that from Doctor Who Confidential Unleashed.)

It's the Nokia N73 that The Doctor handed Inston-Vee Vinder in Once, Upon Time.

And next?

This show just gets better and better. Onwards to Series 15. Or 2. Or, if you're into the UNIT Dating Controversy, Season 41.

While you're waiting, you can read all my Doctor Who phones posts.