There’s just so many things that have piled on the smartphone train that sometimes it is necessary. The recent blog about turning an iPhone into a dumb phone is realistically the best bet for a regular person - and if you do the sign in to iTunes / don’t sign in to iCloud, you get access to these (realistically. sometimes mandatory) apps

It is never necessary. Never. Some entities pretend it is but there is always an undocumented alternative they wish people would not use, but oh well.

No one can force you to have a smartphone to lead a productive life in the modern world.

I run a Silicon Valley based tech company and not having a phone has never restricted me from doing anything.