(Please when answering, assume I’m not a beginner at privacy/programming :) I know where the good stuff at)

First off, shameful confession: I’m writing this on a dying yellow iPhone XR I bought second-hand three years ago (189€). I absolutely love the look of it: the screen, build quality, are all amazing. The only problem was the locked ecosystem (sideloading Spotify/Torrent client was sooo hard).

I saw the android phone of my mother dying really fast. She currently has a Xiaomi phone that’s ridiculously big for my hands, there’s advertisements in the stocks apps (?!!), the UX is janky and everything. It looks like a bloat, privacy nightmare.

So… because it’s impossible to find a jailbreakable phone nowadays I need to buy an android and ideally I would want:

  • Good screen (vivid colors)
  • Good build quality (not shitty plastic)
  • Don’t care about the camera (I don’t want those ridiculously big cameras they make nowadays)
  • Would want to install either GrapheneOS/LineageOS

The things that scare me off:

  • I really need my bank app and I need it updated so I have to use Google Play Services but I don’t want it to plague my phone with privacy bullshit (I want to be degoogled)

The things that excite me:

  • Customization possibilities
  • Learning experience
  • Even more privacy than a de-googled IOS phone :)
  • F-Droid!! (Maybe I’ll find a beautiful IRC client)
  • More choices for Mastodon & Lemmy clients
  • Freedom of free software.
  • client for open-source git providers :)

But to get all of that, I don’t want Google, I need shitty apps (non-free software) I have to install:

  • Instagram (for non-technical friends)
  • GitHub (job & open-source)
  • No-Ad Modded Spotify from Balatan
  • Discord (gamer friends)
  • Telegram (cryptobros friends)
  • Steam (because I still love gaming)

Any advices? Phone ideas? I’m so lost in this ocean of choice (freedom ✨)

My current phone:

  • LogicalErzor@fosstodon.org
    2·
    2 months ago

    @hector If you want to tinker with both Linux and Android for your phone, look at this list: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices

    There are some devices that can dual boot Android and Linux (the one I know of is OnePlus 6)

    Since mainline Linux works on the OnePlus 6, I think there were some efforts to get the latest Android running on it. Ask in the postmarketOS Matrix chat to make sure though

    Also surprised people recommending GrapheneOS: https://youtu.be/4To-F6W1NT0

    • Sarcasmo220
      2·
      2 months ago

      I was going to mention postmarketos if they really wanted to dive headfirst into the degoogled life, lol

      • LogicalErzor@fosstodon.org
        2·
        2 months ago

        @Sarcasmo220 Yeah, I’m a bit surprised people aren’t recommending it and other Linux distros, especially when there are few rough edges left. Any rough edges that truly bother you, and you can switch back to LineageOS while keeping an eye on Linux for when it’s solved

        Andrew Tanenbaum stated that for every 1,000 lines of properly written C code, there is a bug. AOSP is ~500 GB! I don’t trust other ROMs besides LineageOS because how do developers of other ROMs audit this?

        • toastal
          1·
          2 months ago

          I want to support the Linux phones, but I feel you would still be required to carry a second Android phone one way or another with just enough things in life unfortunately requiring ‘the app’ with no web alternative. This isn’t really something you can overcome without reverse engineering entire apps—which usually violates some stupid ToS that gets your account banned for using an alternative client. That said, the more these exact apps are requiring no root, no flashing, no unlocked bootloader, the closer we are getting to needing a separate device anyhow. Maybe my next phone will be Linux 🤔

          • LogicalErzor@fosstodon.org
            2·
            2 months ago

            @toastal Yeah, I wanna be able to support them too. I still have the Pinephone Pro just sitting there because of the abysmal battery life

            Waydroid has most apps covered. Would you perhaps know of any that aren’t? Drains battery extremely fast though. You can always dual booting into Android (Not sure how that works) at least on the OnePlus 6

            A bit unfortunate that devices have varying levels of functionality, but it’s still amazing what people have done so far