In DEVTEC STUDIOS' Roblox tycoon Build a Phone Empire, research determines every component, chassis style, and device category you can bring to market. Your business starts in a basic garage in the year 2007, and you progress through chronological eras by generating Research Points (RP), unlocking historical technologies, and turning those upgrades into high-scoring consumer products.
How Research Points (RP) and Lab Progression Work
Research does not complete instantly; it requires accumulated Research Points and in-game time. When you start your garage setup, passive RP generation begins at a low baseline (observed around 6 RP per day in early gameplay).
To increase your research speed, you must invest in dedicated personnel:
- Open your build menu and place an office desk and chair inside your workspace.
- Select your staff hiring menu and recruit a Researcher.
- Pay the upfront hiring wage and monthly salary.
- Train your researcher to raise their efficiency rating, which directly increases daily RP generation.
By default, your company can only research one technology at a time. Attempting to start another project while one is active displays a notification that the lab is busy. Upgrades take several in-game days or weeks (for example, early upgrades like GPS or specific chassis styles take around 18 in-game days to finish).
Year-by-Year Tech Locks
Technology is tied directly to the in-game calendar displayed at the top of your screen:
- You cannot research parts ahead of their historical release year.
- When the game clock rolls over into a new calendar year (such as reaching 2008, 2012, or 2020), a batch of corresponding real-world technologies becomes visible and available in the research tree.
Research Priority by Device Category
According to community documentation and the official game structure, your business can unlock six distinct device categories: phones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, foldables, and laptops. Investing RP evenly across every branch early on can stall your cash flow.
| Device Line | Unlock Priority | Planning Role & Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Phones | Highest | The core revenue engine. Researching phone parts early provides the margins and review scores required to fund company expansions and office upgrades. |
| Smartwatches | Medium | A connected-device branch to explore once phone income is fully self-sustaining and you have spare staff capacity to manage parallel designs. |
| Laptops | Situational / Mid-Game | Unlocked in later years (around 2012). Offers very high unit prices and revenue potential, but requires significant capital to cover expensive production costs. |
| Foldables | Situational / Late-Game | An advanced phone branch that unlocks in later eras (around 2020). Best reserved for when your company has large RP reserves and high cash buffers. |
| Tablets & Earbuds | Optional Expansion | Adjacent accessory and mobile categories that can be unlocked as your team expands beyond single-device product cycles. |
Notable Tech Unlocks Across Eras
Gameplay tests show that components directly impact your critic review scores (out of 10) and the unit cost required to assemble each model. Progressing through the eras introduces several major hardware milestones:
Early Era (2007–2009)
- Navigation & Network: GPS technology and 3G connectivity.
- Display & Optics: 320p screens, basic selfie cameras, and basic screen borders.
- Chassis & Layout: Chrome slab bodies, glass sandwich builds, and micro USB port positioning.
Mid Era (2011–2013)
- Processing & Internals: Dual-core processors and custom OS app ecosystem features.
- Power & Audio: Wireless charging modules and stereo speakers.
- Display Tech: LED and OLED panels, which significantly improve critic reception on flagship devices and laptops.
Modern Era (2019+)
- Flagship Displays: 1440p resolutions and bezel-less edge designs.
- Premium Materials: Titanium flat chassis, ceramic slim profiles, and air-thin bodies.
- Battery Tech: 5,000 mAh to 6,000 mAh silicon carbon high-capacity batteries.
- Advanced Processing: Dedicated AI chips and foldable hinge engineering.
Managing Research Costs and Company Cash Flow
Running research requires financial discipline. Researchers draw an ongoing monthly salary, and each research project consumes active calendar time. In gameplay sessions where players queue multiple expensive research milestones without releasing profitable hardware in between, cash reserves quickly drain into debt.
To maintain a healthy balance sheet:
- Avoid Research Idle Time: Ensure you have enough RP banked so your researcher never sits idle while drawing a monthly wage.
- Pair Research Directly with Product Launches: As soon as an important milestone finishes (such as a dual-core chip, titanium finish, or OLED screen), incorporate it immediately into your next device release to boost your review scores and recoup R&D expenses.
- Watch Production Unit Costs: Advanced tech increases the base unit manufacturing price. Ensure your set retail price leaves a healthy profit margin over production and marketing fees.
Official Research Game Passes
For players seeking to bypass standard time constraints, the official Build a Phone Empire Roblox store page lists several developer-supported game passes targeting research and laboratory throughput:
- Triple Research (99 Robux): Allows you to research three separate technologies simultaneously instead of the standard single-slot limit. Each individual upgrade still costs its standard RP requirement.
- Lab Grant (79 Robux): Provides a permanent +20% boost to all Research Points earned.
- Hyper Speed (49 Robux): Adds an 8× game speed toggle (activated via keybind 5 or the UI button), accelerating daily calendar ticks and speeding up both research completion and sales cycles.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get Research Points in Build a Phone Empire?
You generate Research Points passively every day by placing an office desk and chair in your building and hiring a staff member under the Researcher role. Training your researcher increases the daily RP output.
Why does the game say "The lab is busy"?
By default, your company can only research one technology at a time. You must wait for the current project bar to reach 100% before starting another upgrade, unless you purchase the Triple Research game pass.
What should you research first?
Prioritize core phone technologies first (such as display upgrades, battery capacity, and modern chassis options). Phones generate the primary revenue needed to pay employee salaries and fund more specialized categories like laptops or foldables later in the timeline.
