Build a Phone Empire starts with phones and officially names five later product families: tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, foldables, and laptops. Research unlocks technology year by year, but the public description does not give the exact unlock year, cost, prerequisites, design fields, or sales behavior for each family. This Device Dex provides a reliable framework without turning unknown values into facts.
Currently documented Device Dex
Starting family
Phones
Source: official Experience description
Availability: company begins by making phones
Design: screen, cameras, corners, buttons, colour, finish, logo, and parts are documented
Best use: establish the first repeatable product loop
Status: Official family; exact catalog is update-sensitive
Research family
Tablets
Source: official Experience description
Availability: unlocked through year-by-year research
Exact year: check current tree
Best use: compare a larger product line after phone income is stable
Status: Official family; fields and values need in-game testing
Research family
Smartwatches
Source: official Experience description
Availability: unlocked through research
Exact year: check current tree
Best use: test a wearable category with its own visible options
Status: Official family; fields and values need in-game testing
Research family
Earbuds
Source: official Experience description
Availability: unlocked through research
Exact year: check current tree
Best use: diversify only after confirming development and launch cost
Status: Official family; fields and values need in-game testing
Research family
Foldables
Source: official Experience description
Availability: unlocked through research
Exact year: check current tree
Best use: compare a later form factor without assuming premium demand
Status: Official family; fields and values need in-game testing
Research family
Laptops
Source: official Experience description
Availability: unlocked through research
Exact year: check current tree
Best use: add a broad product line once the company can fund it
Status: Official family; fields and values need in-game testing
“Official family” means the developer names it as part of the game. It does not mean this page has a complete live specification for that family.
Unlock a family deliberately
Open the research tree and locate the family or its prerequisite technologies. Record the current in-game year, required nodes, Research Point cost, and any other displayed condition. Do not import an unlock year from another player’s screenshot without matching the version and research path.
Keep the active research slot focused on the next product you can afford to build. The official Triple Research pass raises simultaneous research from one to three technologies, but every technology still costs Research Points. More capacity helps only when the company can fund the queue and make use of the unlocked line.
Baseline the first device in each family
When a family becomes available, inspect its designer before buying expensive options. Record which fields are shared with phones and which are unique. Build a conservative first version, save the total displayed cost, set a measured price, and use a clear marketing choice. Then capture the critic review and live sales.
The first version answers basic questions: how costly is the line, what design decisions appear, how long does the visible process take, and can current sales support another attempt? It should not be used to declare the entire category weak or overpowered.
Compare product lines fairly
Avoid comparing raw revenue alone when the devices were launched in different years, regions, or company stages. A higher-cost line may produce a larger number while requiring more cash and time. Compare repeatability and the effect on the next launch.
Schedule multiple device lines
Without the Extra Design Slot pass, plan around the active product capacity shown by the game. Finish a device and observe its result before committing the same cash to another family. With the pass, two simultaneous devices can improve throughput, but they still share the company’s cash, research, staff, and your attention.
Use one stable line to fund an experiment. For example, continue a known phone design while testing the first tablet. Do not start two unfamiliar categories at once if a weak result would leave no clear recovery route.
Choose the next family
Prioritize the line whose research is reachable, whose first design is affordable, and whose launch does not break the existing cash buffer. The public source does not provide a mandatory order beyond the fact that products are unlocked over time. Follow the current tree rather than forcing an external sequence.
If a goal points toward a specific family, compare its visible cash reward with the cost of reaching and launching that device. A goal can guide progression, but it should not turn a stable company into an underfunded experiment.
Frequently asked questions
How many device families are confirmed?
Six are named publicly: phones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, foldables, and laptops.
What year does each device unlock?
Exact years are not published in the official description. Read the current research tree and record the version and prerequisites.
Are foldables automatically the best products?
No universal ranking is verified. Compare cost, price, review, and sales in the current company state.
Can I build two devices at once?
The official Extra Design Slot pass says it allows two devices at the same time. Check the live store and current interface for the exact behavior before buying.
Where should I go next?
Use the Research guide to plan the unlock, the Parts Index to record the catalog, and the Money guide to protect the launch budget.