I'd rather have the mini-computer / camera / flashlight / map / calculator in my pocket without the ability to access wireless networks. USB is good enough for me.
As someone who almost never carries a phone, I think these people are in for a test which many will fail. There are too many places now that you can't enter or purchase things from without a smartphone. How that's legal is beyond me, but without a smartphone you're a second-class citizen and it's only going to get worse.
Starmer has already said "You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It's as simple as that."
https://web.archive.org/web/20250929113819/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15144099/amp/digital-id-card-starmer-dumbpones-nokia.html