You can include your phone specific model if you want.
I just got a Samsung Galaxy S23, switching from an iPhone 11, because I kinda fear that Apple might turn evil and start banning apps from the app store. I mean I knew about how restrictive iOS was but I kinda just justified it by the increased security that I perceived it to be. But recent events made me realize a corporation can turn from mildly annoying to full-on evil very quickly. With Android, I have the option of avoiding the Google Play Store if they start to do weird things with it. So that’s my story, what about you?
I recently picked up a Fairphone 4. I got it mostly because of the removable battery and easy repairing, but it’s nice to know I’m supporting a manufacturer that cares about sustainability.
Cool, are those the modular ones intended to be able to replace all the different pieces of it?
Yup. Basically every part of the phone is repairable and replaceable. I bought it after I accidentally water damaged my previous phone- an LG V20 that had served me faithfully for almost 6 years. I initially thought I might be able to just replace the display of my V20 because the rest of it works fine, but LG no longer makes phones (and the V20 is an older model), so I didn’t have much option.
I use GrapheneOS on Pixel.
Ahh cool, I’ve messed around with rooting, bootloaders, TWRP, and Lineage OS and all that stuff when I was younger, and I kept bricking my devices. I don’t do that anymore nowadays. Too much hassle.
It is pretty much impossible to brick up a Pixel trying to install Graphene on it if you use the web installer
All of that is 100x harder than installing Graphene. Graphene can be installed by almost anyone who can watch this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAZlmYKrwfk
Apple might turn evil? They have always been evil, and goole is evil to. Try a free android distro like CalyxOS, GraphineOS, LineageOS or /e/OS. This is not a complete list.
Any that can run on a Samsung flagship?
Lineage or Calyx should have you covered.
Same story as you, afraid of evil corporations, wanting to take more control over my data, so I changed to a pixel 7 pro with GraphenOS.
If you’re wondering how buying a phone from Google helps in this you can read the answer in here https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/2989-pixel-phone-vs-samsung-or-others
only Pixels that support alternate OS and allowing them full use/access to all the hardware security features.
Pixel 6 Pro running GrapheneOS, which I got a couple months ago. Pixel phones are the only ones compatible with GrapheneOS, otherwise I would’ve kept my Samsung phone tbh
Practically same story here. Pixel 7 Pro here, also running Graphene. Switched off my trusty Note9 only because graphene only supports Pixels.
So I know I’m in the minority not really caring all that much about the whole Google ecosystem, I enjoy it and how everything stays connected, I’m not necessarily on a crusade to prevent all data tracking on myself and all of that.
I have a Pixel 6 Pro as well and looks like I’m gonna wait until the 9 pro to upgrade again if possible, my 6 pro is over a year old and still showing no signs of stopping, still plenty of power for everything I need it for and beyond. Is there anything beyond de-googling that GrapheneOS provides? Can I stay google-ified while running it? Just trying to see what kind of benefits it provides other than de-googling
Currently using a Google Pixel 5 that’s running CalyxOS.
Ditched Apple after they initially announced they were going to start screening messages and photos (although they later walked that back). I value privacy, and hence hate Google. But Google do make sole good hardware. CalyxOS allows me to have the best of both worlds… a privacy-centric OS, running on decent hardware that’s compatible with any Android app (although you still need to be a little careful what you install from a privacy perspective).
I am aware that more modern Pixel models have been released, but I’m waiting for one that’s a little less massive. Every model since the Pixel 5 has been larger than it.
I also have a Pixel 5 and like the size of it. Whenever I handle my wife’s Pixel 6 it feels freaking huge.
Was thinking about Calyx or Graphene. Is it pretty low fuss for daily use?
I was on Graphene but switched to Calyx. Personally, I find easier. The integration of microG helps with a few things, such as apps stuck using Google’s push notification service and apps that require SafetyNet. I was going to try Graphene again, but I was thinking of waiting for a new phone.
Calyx is very nice. I’ve found it to be no fuss at all.
iPhone 11. I agree on the dangers of corps turning evil, but I don’t agree that the solution is to move from ”might turn evil in the future” (Apple) to ”already pretty far in the evil camp” (Google). This is already becoming apparent with the enshittification of Google search. Chromium and Android will soon follow.
I am in the same boat, in my world Apple is better than Google. It works a bit better out of the box, and lately I don’t use my phone for a lot of things anyway, mostly doomscrolling on reddit (now lemmy).
iOS because Apple ecosystem is much more convenient and consistent. I do not worry so much about the struggle you mentioned because the EU will fix it (see USB-C, sideoading, more to come)
Google pixel 6a with grapheneOS
Heya same hereeee ❤
Google Pixel 4a with GrapheneOS
nice. +1
Android because I like the freedom it provides.
As for the phone I’m using. It’s a Oneplus 3 I got a few years back, it’s falling apart but I can’t afford changing it, so I’ll be using it till its last breath.
Zed’s phone is almost dead, babe. 😉
Fairphone 4.
I don’t play demanding games on my phone, so I don’t need some overpriced flagship device.
What I do need is a consumer-replaceable battery and as many other parts as I can get. This means I can get replacement rear- and front-facing camera, earpiece, loudspeaker, USB port, display, back cover and of course battery. All from the original vendor and replacement can be done by me, armed with only a small screwdriver and maybe a spudger for the display.
Over all this is probably one of the most repairable phones and I bought it hoping it will last me 10 years.I’m currently running Iodé (Android) but hope to switch to PostmarketOS in the future. Maybe with a detour via Ubuntu phone.
I wish they brought it to Canada. I already went with a Framework laptop for reparability and would easily jump at the opportunity to buy a fairphone.
I imported mine from the last visit at home. Had to check if it works with Koodo first, too.
And next laptop will definitely be a Framework.The problem with importing is that parts would be slow/expensive to bring in, which would be a bummer.
Honestly, I’m just crossing my fingers that Framework comes out with a repairable smartphone, since they already sell their laptops all over the world =)
How’s the framework? I’m really interested it in. Any downsides?
Absolutely love it. I had an issue with one of the lights on the keyboard, and they sent a new keyboard, which took maybe a minute to replace. Such a smooth, easy repair process. Any other laptop would have been too inconvenient to fix/return.
It’s not a gaming machine, but you can use an external GPU or wait for the 16" model to come up later this year, which apparently supports a dedicated GPU.
Lots of new options came out since I got mine, including a Chromebook version, AMD versions, etc. When my wife’s laptop dies, I’ll be replacing it with a Framework.
Thanks!
I’d love to get one. I know they are trying to keep everything compatible, but I know one day they’ll need to introduce a v2 to make the chassis slimmer or something, and I feel like I should wait for that.
I know I will get so deep into the ecosystem just for them to release a v2 and not be able to upgrade my components anymore.
I mean it’s just inevitable. There’s no way for them to make progress if they are locked into a very specific form factor forever, and I do think the current framework laptops look straight out of 2008.
I am very tempted to buy a fair phone. Unfortunately I do play a lot of demanding stuff on my phone occasionally so right now it’s not the best option for me…
But I’m hopeful for the future. Someday fair phone will be able to get a phone that is more capable. And I’m jump in no regrets.
I’d get a Fairphone if it worked on Verizon.
I am very tempted to buy a fair phone. Unfortunately I do play a lot of demanding stuff on my phone occasionally so right now it’s not the best option for me…
But I’m hopeful for the future. Someday fair phone will be able to get a phone that is more capable. And I’m jump in no regrets.
I am very tempted to buy a fair phone. Unfortunately I do play a lot of demanding stuff on my phone occasionally so right now it’s not the best option for me…
But I’m hopeful for the future. Someday fair phone will be able to get a phone that is more capable. And I’m jump in no regrets.
Xiaomi Mi 10T with LineageOS 19 (there’s no v20 for it) I bought it because I needed a new one that supports 5G and didn’t cost a fortune.
Next one might be a Fairphone 5 whenever it comes out. Or a Pixel with GrapheneOS.
I’m also interested in a mobile that runs Linux instead of Android (see PinePhone). But there’re none that have good/current hardware.
I’d recommend getting that pixel. They have 5 years of support with security patches. Do know that the 5 years is with newer devices from 6/6a & up
Android. Pixel 7. Because it’s a pretty close to stock experience and Pixels get updates the quickest and most frequent updates compared to other Android phones.
How is it in terms of speed/responsiveness? I’ve been considering getting one
Every pixel I’ve ever had has been extremely responsive. My OG Pixel XL, my Pixel 2 XL, my Pixel 4 XL, and my current Pixel 6 Pro were always very responsive and didn’t seem to slow down at any point. I’d imagine the OG Pixel XL is probably a little.laggy-feeling compared to the newest pixels but yeah; hate to admit it, because I don’t like iPhones, but the Pixel series is like the Iphone of Androids - and only the good things about the iPhone being only manufactured by 1 company - it’s the phone of the actual developer of the OS and gets lots of extra features first because of it, only stock OS apps preinstalled except for maybe a carrier app if phone is financed through them (I have the T-Mobile app on my current Pixel, for example). Super nice build quality, I’ve always ended up being tougher on my phones and the Pixels have held up really really well. Highly recommend them honestly.
Isn’t Samsung kinda locked down? I always thought they were the Apple of Android.
I use a OnePlus Nord with LineageOS, it’s cheap and has official* support. I don’t care much for my phone, I want some sync, look up some stuff, and that’s it.
* Actually got dropped a week later, but some people stepped up, and now it’s official again.
I don’t think they are any more “locked down” than the other vendors, usually they have a bunch more features on top of base android. I never used their store tho so idk if that’s what you’re refering to
Mainly about unlocking the bootloader and installing a custom ROM and root.
Um no? Depends on what you mean by “locked down”. For custom ROM? Probabaly. But for me, I just want to install apps without the approval of a corporation. If the appstore servers shut down or gets DDOSed for some reason, you’re out of luck.
If you are an EU resident you could just keep your iPhone and wait for the sideloading law to kick in, then you don’t have to worry about that anymore either.
I’m an American 😔.
Oh, in that case I guess Apple might region lock the feature, so switching is still a good call. Although in the grand scheme of things I think the legislation will still have a positive impact elsewhere and possibly motivate some US states to follow suit, like what California did after the GDPR.
Looks like (thanks to the EU again) that iOS will support side loading apps shortly which should at least give options should an app be removed from the store. As for the reality …. I guess we just need to wait and see https://www.macrumors.com/2023/04/17/app-sideloading-support-coming-ios-17/
Did apple shut down sideloading then? When I was testing on iOS, dev local installation was a pain but I would assume that’s still an option if you enable the dev features
Ah, if all you want is straightforward sideloading, I guess that works. That’s not enough for me ;)
