Smartphone makers will soon face an unlikely competitor. Concerns about the impact of social media are driving demand for old-school Nokia brick-like handsets...
That looks like a 3d printed shell over some sort of scannable chip that pairs with an app on a smart phone to require a physical action to unlock the full phone experience.
A printed QR code paired with an similar app would serve the same function.
My company did a similar 3rd party app on their phones for truck drivers, to cut down on driving distractions and within days they had all figured ways around the software and were back to watching videos while driving.
If people (or kids) want a way around they will find it. There have been too many examples that can be found already of them getting around similar software.
Best go with the ‘non smart’ phone to begin with the simply eliminate the issue altogether.
People being able to find a way around isn't a good rationale for not putting up roadblocks in the first place. It's basically the same argument that's used against gun regulations.