The phrase "a mere utility" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is considered to have little value beyond its practical function.
Example: "While the app has its uses, to me, it feels like a mere utility rather than a tool for creativity."
Alternatives: "just a tool" or "simply a function".
More economists are accepting that finance is not a "zero sum game", nor indeed a mere utility, but an important driver of economic cycles.
Danger's software, he says, turns a mere utility into entertainment.
As for why Fandango is creating these shows at all, Young said they help the company move beyond being a mere utility.
Even on a diminished scale, the design suggests more than mere utility.
The connection between a politician and the financial interests that secure him are deeper than mere utility or selfish purpose.
Here, a welding mask and a Volvo tail light are presented as sculptures, suggesting that industrial design can transcend mere utility and hold its own as high culture.
Last night he played every part of the game with more than mere utility.
Their introductory text states, "As the purpose of design has, in past decades, shifted away from mere utility toward meaning and communication, objects that were once charged only with being elegant and functional now need to have personalities.
She's alert to the way that fashion gradually edged out mere utility, as she explains the landscaping craze of the eighteenth century, the flower-bed craze of the Victorians, and the current vogue for vegetables grown for decorative effect.
The same interview saw him label rivals like Spotify as mere "utilities" lacking Apple's human touch.
Those that cannot will be reduced to mere utilities, with much thinner margins.The immediate worry, though, is the erosion of revenue from voice and (especially) messaging.
