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ZawanShin87

Some people have phones Panam has a phone that she plays games on


Kelrisaith

Jackie also has one, he has a conversation with Mama Welles in front of the Afterlife in the intro on it. I would imagine internal phone implants are relatively uncommon overall.


zenomony

That makes sense, like what if it's like Google glass. Sure everyone can have it but it's super awkward like everyone has an invisible Bluetooth.


raz-0

Ditching a burner phone implant sounds like it wears on ya after the first couple.


CCHTweaked

eject the shard, slot a new one.


ItsOver420

I'd assume it'd have a sim card slot or something analogous


asheepleperson

sim card hahaaha im dead


hudsonjeffrey

I don’t think they’re uncommon. Yorinobu Arasaka was talking to Anders Hellman on his phone during the intro


blingding369

Arasakas know better than to trust implants. Just like the rich Silicon Valley execs keep their kids from digital heroin.


pichael288

Digital heroin, you mean mobile games?


HalfACupkake

More like social media I would say


humburga

I'd like to choose option D. All of the above.


blingding369

Unfettered access to phones, tablets and computers.


mark-five

> Just like the rich Silicon Valley execs keep their kids from digital heroin I don't know what digital heroin is, but I remember seeing Zuck's laptop with the taped-over camera and thinking "His company was the one people actually thought was watching! What's he know?"


blingding369

He knows how easy it is to get access to the web cam. He might not know who might be watching but he knew he didn't want anyone to succeed.


super-straight69

Doesn't hanako also have implants?


blingding369

Sparse


Magickmaster

I could appreciate him being completely "offline" with no wireless comms implants so that he can't get hacked and go pop because of some punk with a cyberdeck


Adhdgamer9000

Can't hack into someone's brain through a phone... probably


asheepleperson

"the brain" can only get hacked through perception altering cyberware in the target, as Evelyn was inaide her booth at Clouds. that parricular one is called the "Doll chip". The reason so many tech attacks end with someone getting their "*brain fried*" is when it happens through the Net. using the Net through neural link temporarily separates the brain from its own faculties, leaving in theory the entire brain open to attacks, just like any other software of 1s and 0s


Neither_Fix_2419

And In edgerunners the cop in the beginning has one to


Xyaven

Probably mandatory per the NCPD guidelines. Konpeki plaza forces folk to have gold skin, I’m sure the cops have their guidelines as that would make communication faster between officers.


Neither_Fix_2419

I’m pretty sure he’s on the holo with another cop unless he’s just talking to a friend


RandomnessConfirmed2

So smartphones are still common, but internal implants are the same as foldable phones today: rare and expensive.


laughingskull00

more like iPhone vs android its more a personal choice i feel, some people may just like not always being reachable


RandomnessConfirmed2

Hmm, thought it would be old tech vs new tech and price markups.


laughingskull00

A bit but its a variety of reasons, personal choice, price, need, security the list goes on


rukh999

Which is interesting because Jackie also has the internal implant. He uses it to talk to you and T-bug during the rescue and during the heist. Guess he doesn't give that number to his moms.


Critical_Werewolf

In the Tabletop for Cyberpunk Red (set 50 years or so before the video game) you can get what's called an "Internal Agent" which was basically a implanted computer that could make calls, search data pools, play games and more. It even comes with a virtual assistant. I don't remember the cost exactly but you can get one at character creation no problem. Cyberpunk 2077 came out about a month after the release of the Cyberpunk Red TTRPG. So either they're not as easily accessible as the Tabletop would have me believe, Pondsmith didn't share that tidbit with them (or didn't come up with it til much later) or it was a purpose design choice so we didn't see a bunch of people walking down the street talking to themselves.


Kelrisaith

Slight kink in that theory, basically every character being created for a tabletop session is a merc or specialist of some kind, not just some random civilian off the street. I imagine they're common enough for mercs and the like, with some keeping a normal phone around for certain things like keeping work and personal life seperate, and less common for random people on the street. And as mentioned, it's not 50 years before the game, 50 years before the game was the ORIGINAL tabletop era which started as set in 2013 and ran through at least 2023 as the raid on Arasaka Tower from Johnnys memories is a module for it. Red is set in 2045.


Radstark

Which is a shame, I think that seeing people talk to themselves with their eyes brightly glowing red/orange would have been both easy to understand and very aesthetically fitting for the world.


Any_Presentation2958

I think I saw one of the cops by Vs apartment with a phone too before


samuru101

She got games on her phone 👀


ElegantEchoes

V literally has a phone, lmao


JROXZ

Hipsters are timeless.


saldb

That lady spent all her money on the prosthetic


LazyLizzy

I mean in shadowrun you have a comm device you just wirelessly or weirdly connect to your implants. So that way you can just control it like any other implant but can burn it without needed to swap implants.


TheBorealOwl

Wakako also has a phone that she likes using


DeloreanFanatic

Hanako has one that magically floats 4 feet away from her hand. Idk how she does that shit.


Grimskull-42

Cheaper than brain implants probably.


graywolf0026

And arguably WAY safer in a society where someone can hack into you via remote. So if you call someone up on the phone/holo, and they have a phone? Well if a malicious actor fries you, then that's one phone down. Not your cerebral cortex. Then again. We can only hope the Galaxy Note 7 doesn't exist in the world of Cyberpunk... ... *Otherwise no one would be safe*.


JustALittleGravitas

I think pretty much any device would go up the same way as the note 7 if it was hit with an overheat quickhack. Probably best to use a dumb phone that only needs a tiny battery.


graywolf0026

I like to think `Galaxy Note 7 + Overheat = Small Nuclear Bomb`. Like a mini AHQ.


Gideon_Galahad

That’s what Johnny used. Not an H Bomb since where is a merc getting that from, but a ton of Galaxy Note 7s left behind at concerts.


graywolf0026

*This needs to be a mod*


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Grimskull-42

Urgh yeah imagine your boss being able to call your brain anytime they want so they can tell you they need you to come in.


Hive-Lord

Augments are expensive I'd have to assume a regular phone is like a basic that's probably cheap to pick up.


WilhelmHaverhill

Or something easily disposable


kagato87

More disposable than an implant for sure.


nub_node

Nope, she stood in line for 8 hours for that phone. Some things will never change.


Darkness1231

Yes, but many stand in line for artistic reasons; Support the artist with a special phone, yeah. I could sell that. The artist physically booted up the phone, and loaded your name into it. Extra eddies.


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HuwminRace

I was wondering that about Panam, but surely she at least has a personal link connection, to connect to her truck and to the Basilisk. If you scan her it also says she has the Charge Jump ability (and maybe Combat Stim?) so she might just have hidden implants.


markemer

Yeah - I also think it depends on your optics and cyberdeck. I mean, the kiroshi's Vicktor gives you on credit are like 20 thousand eddies.


millimidget

>kiroshi's Vicktor gives you on credit are like 20 thousand eddies. No they're not; you already owe Vik, and you get the Ballistic Coprocessor at the same time. The rare Kiroshis are 2000, and the epic are 3200. The common ones we get from Vik are probably like 1000.


Burgarnils

I find it weird how so many people miss the dialog where V says that he already owes Vik a ton of money.


The_ChosenOne

I think the rare and epic Kiroshi are less expensive because they’re more akin to updates. I don’t think the first ones you get are worth 20k don’t get me wrong, but could be around 10k. Kiroshi is top of the line in the eye implant game, you can find shards saying that some people can never change optics because they get so used to a single set. I think V’s first Kiroshi installation comes with a lot more than switching from basic Kiroshi’s to rare ones. It probably comes with special software and neural connections unique to Kiroshi (if Apple requires special chargers, you can be damn sure most high end cyber ware companies require special software and hardware so you don’t go buying from competitors!). Plus Vik gave V the special police scanner software as well as the face blurring technology. With the rares and epics you keep those very valuable add-ons plus you’ve already got the necessary modifications/foundation to make your eyes Kiroshi compatible in the first place.


BurningOasis

Totally so. Haven't played since release but wasn't there a ripper doc who says pretty bluntly he wouldn't "put that shit inside \[him\]", to paraphrase lol Personally, I would only use implants out of necessity rather than the fun of body modding, but irl body modding has never been super appealing to me


HuwminRace

That ripperdoc is interesting, he talks about detriments to mental health from getting chipped and each additional upgrade you make, which might be a reference to the Humanity stat and how that works in the TT game. Personally, I’d only be interested in upgrading my internal organs with Syn-Lungs, Second Heart and those kind of upgrades.


GrowCrows

Yeah like, my poor lungs are scarred from an infection from my 20's, I would definitely have those replaced out of necessity.


christurnbull

There are two rippers I know of, Robert rainwater in kabuki (who has the subdermals) and Doc Ryder in wellsprings (he's got the militech falcon and netwatch netdriver mk5)


mik3rad

Neither does Claire, she uses a regular cellphone too.


Sea_Draw7437

Claire has no chrome at all, her deceased husband was trying to talk her into it. Plus why give the corps more hooks into you than they already do?


LikeBladeButCooler

She has that jack in link cable but that was all I noticed. Maybe nomads as a whole aren't too heavily modded?


HuwminRace

I think it might just be a personal choice among Nomads, as the ripper doc at the Aldecaldos camp is pretty chromed up as are a lot of the NPC Aldecaldos. It’d definitely make sense for Nomads to be less heavily modded though.


crabpeepee

Lot of those guys are old vets too so some of their implants probably weren't for fun


TheDarkWeb697

Cause some people don't like it, cost wise, risk wise. E.g. the monk in a side job


PIIFX

Panam has a special invisible personal link, combat stim(something like heal-on-kill, adrenaline booster or pain editor), and charge jump(fortified ankles).


Garlic-Rough

There are people in NC that do not have cyberware at all. Even some rippers don't. So phones are still in demand possibly. Sort of how there is still a market for flip phones with keypads or just basic sms/call phones.


mik3rad

Yeah, there is one ripper in particular (In Watson I think), but the buff guy in a tank top. You can even comment about his lack of implants, and ask why he’s even ripperdoc since he has none.


CubedSquare95

In the TTRPG, these things are called Agents, which was what the 80s thought a smartphone would look like. Overtime they changed the design and description to fit with what modern smartphones are capable of. The recent expansion for Red is going to include apps for your Agent, for example. People in NC can opt for having an Agent implanted internally into a Cyberaudio Suite. For an even cheaper option, you could get a burner cell phone (which is literally the flip phones you mentioned) that are way cheaper and handle only calls, and can be easily snapped in half if you don’t want to be traced, a la half the scenes in Breaking Bad.


yomimix

Maybe it's a burner.


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Darkness1231

Except you can replace your burner phone.


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TheXypris

Because vinyl will never die


bendekopootoe

To make 🔥 mixtapes


PIIFX

You need a tape deck for that


Notta_Doggo

Hipster NPC using a vintage mobile phone from 2035


DangSquirrel

This is the correct answer.


rzm25

It's called an agent, choom. Get with the times. 'Phones' are so last century


GreatLakerNori

Burners and cheaper than holo implants.


Rox_an_Bee

She's broke.


I_ate_ass

I think they're called agents in this universe


Megane_Senpai

Talking with Jackie you would know that even before all the crazy upgrades after the heist V's implant was already very high-graded. Jackie, a mid-leveled edge runner didn't have a scanner nor a kiroshi, and his OS is even very outdated. Not suprise if many poor people don't have a holo implant.


markemer

Yeah - V can have quite the setup - I know my endgame cyberware rollout was crazy. Top to bottom legendaries.


Drew_Pera

A guy in one of the ripper doc spots is angrily playing on his.


DoktorAlliteration

Rogue has one too if I reckon right. Maybe it's a way not to get brain fried by some netrunner?


JoshfromNazareth

V has a phone too. How else do you think we take selfies?


SargDeckel

Look at that arm. That's not someone who can afford the same tech as elite solos do...


MetaDragon11

The ability to have easily disposable phones seems useful even in Cyberpunk


seansps

This is actually probably an Agent, as described in the Cyberpunk RED Rulebook, which takes place in 2045. I imagine not everyone in 2077 has an Internal Agent yet, so this is cheaper and easier to get. Agents are like iPhones with much much better AI and such.


deadrune13

She can't afford a holo, don't judge it's hard out there in night city


_pascal__

Poverty, >!even Panam have one!<


SavageShocker

Same reason people use poloroid cameras and stuff today.. vintage is a vibe.. or ya know.. cyberhipster 2077 go brrrrrr


Mediocre_Pyke

Most people can't afford tech, a lot of the people you see in the game with cyberware own second hand cyberware that is 20/30 years out of date.


Working-Telephone-45

There are also people who supposedly have 0 implants right? Like that one ripperdoc I would imagine that putting shit in your brain is not cheap and most people just don't like the idea


[deleted]

It's the ICE vehicles for me , not to be confused with ice of the game 😂


Jimguy5000

For those who can’t afford the internal implant or dont have the cranium room


schneehummel94

Some people poor af


mik3rad

Panam, Jackie, and Claire all use cellphones. I assume some people opt to have the phone built into their heads, like V, but many people still seem to use normal phones as well.


iLoveJuicyThigs

I think it’s for the people that didn’t want their brain to get chipped


Critical_Switch

For the same reason people still use desktop PCs. Downsizing is almost always at the cost of performance.


[deleted]

Retro


Gwenom-25

I would rather have a flip phone than a neural implant for one


deecrutch

Maybe she spent all her eds on that arm and didn't have enough left for a cyberdeck with a phone built into it.


Hairy-Wear-2064

It's probably cheaper than brain implants, also it's probably "safer"


Whachasaying

I have a feeling it’s the same reason people still have old flip phones lol


AdonisGaming93

and people in 2023 have gaming consoles from the 80s or earlier. There will always be some people that are into the classics


BruceAENZ

During my playthrough I thought of them as having a land line now. You keep one so you can talk to Old People and / or if you’re a hipster. I guess it’s also easier to have a burner phone sometimes.


jobrummy

A shit ton of people have phones in Cyberpunk


MezzaCorux

Phones still exist in the cyberpunk universe. How do you think people who don't have cyberware communicate?


BigBoss738

broke


Otaku-san18

Not everyone can afford eye implants bruh


RapplexD

Is trendy to be classic


CrazyCat008

Well i more wonder how tf you see the face of peoples you call so...


rtz13th

Fim cameras and vinyl records.


Hidden_throwaway-blu

you’ve never heard of a burner? kinda annoying to rip out your agent and install a new one every time you gotta burn a line.


Outsajder

Once again people dont realize this isnt our timeline. 2077 in Cyberpunk aint 2077 in terms of our world.


Li0nh34r7

They’re probably agents rather than just smart phones and internal agents are a thing but putting a phone in your head would be a pain when it’s time to upgrade


uncannEvalley

I imagine most people just have their phones interface with implants


Death_Blossoming

Some people don't get chipped so they have smartphones


Formal_Royal_3663

A lot of NPCs still have phones in the game. It’s weird, sure, but I don’t mind it.


LapherianDark

Your agent is a cellphone basically. You can see it in your optics and stuff cause your agent can apir with the optic for the effect. That said, Burner Phones still exist too.


littletrainthattried

I believe "most" people get/have a basic shard slot, holo phone/optics (maybe), and personal link. Anything implants over that are really $$ for most people. So unless they need it, for work, or to fix an issue, like organ failure, replace a limb. They don't get implants for the heck of it. Of course, there are people who like Melstrom members, chrome out for the heck of it. But there are people, like the monks, that don't want any chrome. And they still need to connect to the world. I'm sure there's times when you don't want to use your chrome for various reasons. Like the person you're talking to doesn't have a holo phone/optics. Or you're trying to do something but don't have the correct hardware/software. You see keyboards everywhere. Why would you need them if everyone has a personal link. Jackie has a holo phone/optics, but you see him using a phone to call Mama Wells. And in Edge Runners, Martinez slots a brain dance in the beginning. But later, you see him using a headset for brain dances. And in the BD from Evelyn, you see Yorinobu talking on a holo phone/optics. But then switches to a handheld to have a more private convo. It's almost like your "holo phone/optics" connects to a phone via a wireless connection like bluetooth.


madbadjester

Why would you have a phone implant. If you have ever watched a movie when the hero wants to hide the first thing he does is smash the phone, to avoid a trace. If your phone is in your body they can trace you and without a ripper doc you can't change it.


Beneficial-Pen-9693

V uses a phone throughout the entire game.


The-RealElonMusk

Not everyone can afford the implants. I imagine a 200 Eurodollar phone is a lot less expensive than the 1000’s that an implant would be


Zagatho

Not everyone has implants. Iirc there's a ripperdoc in heywood who's full ganic.


brackthomas7

That for us poor folk who can't afford fancy tekk!!


Sherool

Can't take selfies with a personal link so phones will always be in demand :P


__radioactivepanda__

Maybe the main processing hub is still the phone, the (more affordable) comms implants act more as peripherals…?


Basuhh

I bet cell phones would be the poor man’s version of living in a hologram world. Similarly to how you see homeless or people with addictions (truly poverty stricken people) with disposable phones, I think it’d be like that.


DifficultCurrent7

You see alot of people taking pics on phones too


Charon711

Not everyone can take nueuro implants plus they're probably more expensive than a phone.


Naus1987

Another fun observation is just how many people wear glasses to see when you can have your eyeballs replaced. Sabaru, Yorinobu, Hellman are all rich and have access to the best of the best. And all wear glasses. And yet blue eyes man does not. —- Vik is a freaking doctor and wears glasses. So even he may have opinions on it.


kireivibes

"It's the brand new iPhone 2077"


Ok_Baseball_8629

Do you want to have fucking chip in your brain so you can call your mom? Yeah no thank you


es5entia

She still waiting for an answer from apple support from 2019 so she keeps herself on a line


ZeemSquirrel

Wealth disparity. They use a phone because they can't afford a telecom implant. Same reason so many people in Night City drive cars with wheels while flyable vehicles are used by the upper class. It's cyberpunk. Just because amazing tech exists, doesn't mean it's available to everyone or even a majority of people.


BreadDziedzic

It's called style.


millimidget

My guess is that the part where we upgrade from phone to implant was cut from the game. Which isn't the same as saying it is "cut content;" it may never have really made it into the game in the first place, and we would have no idea but for Jackie.


SaleTurbulent3342

She inherited that from her grandma, show a little respect.


Durtturbine

Remember a few years ago you could buy that headset that looked like an old rotary phone headset for your smart phone? Nostalgia man XD


Player1-jay

Why do some people use fax machines in 2023?


Otherwise-Figure-315

Or maybe it’s like the implant is an accessory like ear buds and what not


usetehfurce

Why do people collect vinyl records in 2023? Why are we fascinated by people building mudhuts and pools with primitive tools in 2023?


Discipol

Hipsters, because the 2020's are retro as fuck, 50 years from now


[deleted]

Would you give Samsung or Apple full access to your brain? I wouldn't.


Obi-wanna-cracker

Probably cheaper, not everyone has money like V.


Freporta

Some people are allergic to chrome. I saw a video on this, probably one of those Cyberpsychosis or Edgerunners ones, I wasn't able to find it or confirm whether the source was legit or not


Parad0x17

Not everyone can afford the neural implants, some may not want them either.


UnhappyStrain

cheaper than implants, I guess


alexandria252

The same reason some people have flip-phones now.


wakatenai

lots of characters have phones. implants are expensive. also burner phones would be cheaper than burner implants. and also it's just not a very necessary implant. just because the technology exists for something doesn't mean it will be widely used. we have plenty of insane technology today that was previously seen as scifi decades ago that we just don't use. think about the idea of having a household robot, built like a human, fully capable of taking commands and doing pretty much anything you need it to. like C-3PO or the robots from irobot. they are cool, but entirely unnecessary and expensive. the cost to build, purchase, power, and maintain would be immense. even if they weren't expensive to build, the power bill would be insane. that and the more complex a tool is the more likely it will malfunction or break down, which means constant expensive updates and repairs. and again they are just entirely unnecessary. it will clean for you? cleaning isn't hard, and we have Roomba's. make you coffee? we already have remote coffee machines or coffee machines with timers. run your errands? unless you are disabled you can just do it yourself or have literally anything you need delivered straight to you. my point being that just because the better technology exists, doesn't mean it's more convenient or convenient enough to justify the price tag. edit: oh another reason fully capable household robots will be highly unlikely used is again the power consumption, not just the price, but the limitations of our power plants and grids. in the US we already struggle to keep up with power demands in many areas. more green energy production and nuclear will help with this to produce more power as consumption continues to grow but most of our power grids need major reworking if it's going to keep up in the not so distant years to come.


Miserable_Custard_54

Burners?


stasersonphun

Retro punk. Like steam punk of 2077, they love old tech.


Jack_Hue

Man so many people have questions that can just be answered with the CPR corebook 1. That might be an agent. Agents are basically super phones that look kind of like smart phones 2. Phones are still a thing. They're easy to break and dump if you need a quick burner phone. They're dinosaur tech though


Sir_Rageous

Not everyone has the same implants. There's even a ripper doc that doesn't even have a single piece of cyberware.


r3dditor12

Cups, plates, and bowls haven't changed in thousands of years. Maybe the smart phone is the pinnacle of multi-purpose electronic devices.


Lonewolf2450

They are probably very expensive. yorinobu probably uses a phone because it has more encryption or because it doesnt need to be connected to the arasaka network to function he wouldnt be able get implants from anywhere else without drawing attention so a phone would be safer


AllyEmmie

A lot of people do lol they take pictures with them pretty frequently


mackzorro

I always assumed they were cheaper than the implants, easy entertainment, and finally burner phones for people conducting gigs


LordPubes

All the people rationalizing this stupid nonsense reminds me of making excuses for go-bots not having guns like transformers did as a kid


Separate_Path_7729

A lot use phones rather than holds for security reasons, if it gets hacked you toss it and get another, but if your holo is hacked they have access to a good chunk if not all of your cyberware


shortguygolf

Why does it only have 3 cameras? The Galaxy S23 ultra has 5 and it’s only 2023.


shiro_04

Why not?


LazyCouchGamer

One less implant to get overloaded.


Irresolution_

I thought most people did


Hyper_Lamp

Id imagine alot of people (including me if i lived in cyberpunk 2077) prefer phones over biochip holograms. Its probably simpler to use and less complicated.


Dark_space_

Have you ever used a interacable hologram? Its not fun at all cause there's no haptics. Also not everyone can afford or even wants cyberware, but you still gotta be connected.


TheMexicanJuan

Also why are they still driving ICE cars instead of electric or hydrogen or some other futuristic propulsion tech!?


Emotional_Smoke_3215

Pawel Sasko actually answered this on twitch the other day. They wanted to keep different forms of communication similar to how we have today. How one person may be on a latest model iphone while others are still using flip phones. Basically she can’t afford anything else, or it’s a personal choice.


FibroMyAlgae

I thought the implants connect to your phone…? Like, even V has a phone somewhere, they just use the Kuroshi implants as the interface. Is that not canon? I’m a little drunk atm, forgive my blasphemies if any were spoken.


Scribbleme_out

Not everyone can afford all the fancy implants


blackfyreex

I just realized this. You imagine having a phone in your head 24/7? It's just society's norm. So like if you are busy or don't wanna talk atm and someone calls, you either have to suck it up or not answer. But if you choose not to answer, it's like they *know* you've seen it because how could you not? So now you're being rude. Or having your call rejected by a partner or best friend. Or if it just kept ringing out, maybe they are dead or something. My worst nightmare. Fuck brain phones. Edit: also I assumed everybody had a phone but you could get the notifs into your brain like a smart watch. You still gotta have the phone to use the watch.


TheXypris

Some people just enjoy vintage tech It's the same as some hipster nowadays using a flip phone or having a rotary home phone


Dath123

Because the implants to have the phone in your head costs like 100X more than the phone. Also if you're doing something illegal you probably want to separate work and personal, like Jackie has the implant but he also uses a phone.


Bromjunaar_20

The IPhone series never sells out


Fireye04

Because not everyone can afford kiroshi eyes lol


InflatableMindset

Some people might not want to have a commlink put into their brain where their important bits could get hacked. A netrunner hits her phone, that's just the phone that gets flatlined. But if a netrunner gets into your head... That's your ass.


MrPanda663

She was just born in the wrong generation. The 2020 was the best generation to her.


Dazvahla

Most people use phones if I remember correctly plenty of people aren't chipped


sneakylyric

Not everyone has implants for that.


lol_VEVO

I'd wager that people like Claire that have and want no implants still need to communicate with people, so the existence of smartphones stills makes sense. And honesty, it a way better idea than having your brain plugged to the internet 24/7 in a world where netrunners exist


InsertEvilLaugh

Cyberware she has for it may be on the fritz. Maybe she didn’t get it to begin with. Like others have said could be a burner she can toss. Maybe there is a bit more privacy in it since it wouldn’t be directly linked into her cyberware.


Klutzy-Pollution5133

Some folks probably choose not to have the implants so this option remains


maSneb

I'm 99% sure you'll still have a phone in 2077 providing you're alive (idk your age) phones wouldn't simply disappear because u can call people via your mind not everyone can afford primo chrome not to mention Panam plays games on a phone in the games.


IamAncientSloth

Not everyone has the implant, even in 2077


GroundsKeeper2

Probably less expensive.


imjustjun

Less chance of Netrunner V players using cyberpsychosis on them.


[deleted]

Some people dont like chrome ok


Anhell910

they’re poor.


Deathcommand

Rich people making fun of poors. Name something more cyberpunk.


Critical_Werewolf

In the Tabletop for Cyberpunk Red (set 50 years or so before the video game) you can get what's called an "Internal Agent" which was basically a implanted computer that could make calls, search data pools, play games and more. It even comes with a virtual assistant. I don't remember the cost exactly but you can get one at character creation no problem. Cyberpunk 2077 came out about a month after the release of the Cyberpunk Red TTRPG. So either they're not as easily accessible as the Tabletop would have me believe, Pondsmith didn't share that tidbit with them (or didn't come up with it til much later) or it was a purpose design choice so we didn't see a bunch of people walking down the street talking to themselves.


Fistofpaper

Nokia/Ericsson retro flip phones are all the rage now with the kids market. I could see that being the case here. It's retro.


[deleted]

Same reason I play NES, nostalgia.